Rahul Gandhi alleges ‘systemic’ voter deletions in Congress booths, avoids legal course question

New Delhi — Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that votes from Congress strongholds were being systematically deleted through fake logins operated via a “centralised system.” However, he sidestepped questions on whether the Congress would approach the courts or the poll panel over the alleged irregularities.

When asked by IANS if the party planned to move court over illegal voter deletions, Gandhi did not give a direct response, instead stressing that he was a “committed soldier of democracy” who would always strive to uphold constitutional values.

This marked Gandhi’s second special press conference in recent months targeting the electoral process. Earlier, he had alleged voter deletions in Karnataka’s Aland constituency, and a month ago claimed that votes were “stolen” in the Mahadevpura Assembly segment.

At Thursday’s press conference, titled “Democracy can’t be deleted,” Gandhi claimed large-scale voter deletions in Congress bastions in Karnataka, allegedly carried out through fake logins and phone numbers originating outside the state. According to him, software systems — not individuals — were being deployed to erase names from electoral rolls.

Accusing Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of shielding “vote thieves,” Gandhi demanded that the ECI release details of the phone numbers and OTPs used in these alleged operations within a week.

He claimed voter deletions were happening nationwide but highlighted Karnataka’s Aland constituency, where he alleged that 6,018 names — mostly from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and other marginalised groups — had been removed to benefit a particular party.

The issue reportedly came to light when a booth-level officer in Aland discovered her relative’s name had been deleted. Gandhi said Karnataka’s Election Commission initiated an inquiry in February 2023, writing at least 18 letters seeking clarification. In March, the Karnataka CID requested OTPs, call records, and other data, but only incomplete details were provided in August 2023.

He alleged that the CEC was aware of the issue but deliberately remained silent. Gandhi further claimed similar methods were being used to add voters in Maharashtra’s Rajoura constituency.

On his earlier remark about dropping a political “hydrogen bomb” to expose the government, Gandhi said his team was still collecting evidence of electoral malpractice and would make it public soon.

With inputs from IANS