Day after Rahul’s charge against CEC, MP Priyanka Gandhi urges public to join ‘vote chori’ signature campaign

We are fighting for every individual’s right to vote and to defend our cherished constitutional values, which make us a vibrant democracy, she added.

The press conference

LoP Rahul Gandhi in a press conference Thursday accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of protecting “vote chors” who have “destroyed our democracy”. The EC responded to the allegations saying Gandhi’s allegations are “incorrect and baseless”.

Gandhi in his press conference cited data from two Assembly constituencies, one in Karnataka and another in Maharashtra, to allege irregularities in electoral rolls and asked the EC to provide information about alleged voter deletions sought by the Karnataka CID in a week. He said the agency had written 18 letters to the EC in as many months, seeking relevant information to no avail.

Gandhi claimed that in Aland — which the Congress won by 10,348 votes in 2023 — his party’s voters were targeted. “Someone tried to delete 6,018 votes. We don’t know the total number of votes deleted in Aland in the 2023 election … The top 10 booths with maximum deletions were Congress strongholds. Congress won eight out of the 10 booths in 2018. This was not a coincidence; this was a planned operation.”

“Gyanesh Kumar, India’s Chief Election Commissioner, is protecting the vote thieves … This is proof that Gyanesh Kumar is protecting the vote thieves, and this is black and white proof, there is no confusion about it … This is not something I am saying lightly. I am the LoP in the Lok Sabha. This is something I am saying after solid proof I am going to show you, the people and youth of India,” he said.

Responding to the LoP, the EC said, “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Shri Rahul Gandhi. No deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person. In 2023, certain unsuccessful attempts were made for deletions in the Aland Assembly constituency and an FIR was filed by the authority of the ECI itself to investigate the matter. As per records, Aland Assembly constituency was won by Subhadh Guttedar (BJP) in 2018 and BR Patil (INC) in 2023.”