Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s dramatic accusations of voter fraud and “vote theft” against the Election Commission of India (ECI) are facing increasing scrutiny, as multiple claims he presented are now being challenged by verified information and on-ground investigations. Recent developments from Bengaluru and other regions appear to undermine his allegations.
Bengaluru Family Identified as Genuine Voters
One of Gandhi’s assertions involved a supposed case of fraudulent voters a family of three in Bengaluru he claimed were fake based on the absence of their photographs. However, an initial probe by the Election Commission (EC) has verified the family as legitimate voters.
Photos and GPS-verified addresses of the individuals Om Prakash Bagri, Saraswati Devi Bagri, and Mala Bagri have surfaced online. They were photographed holding their voter ID cards at their home on 2nd Main, JCR Layout, Panthur, near Kadubeesanahalli, Bengaluru.
According to EC sources, the reason the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka asked Gandhi to personally submit an affidavit is due to his prior reluctance to formally stand by his claims. “In earlier instances, his team sent allegations but disavowed them later. This time, we insisted on a signed submission,” said an official.
The EC also addressed Gandhi’s reference to a similar issue in Maharashtra in December 2024. The Commission claims it had responded in detail at the time, and the response is publicly available. Yet, Gandhi continued to assert that no reply was received.
Ironically, on the same day Gandhi questioned the integrity of the Karnataka electoral rolls, the state’s Congress-led government adopted those very rolls as the foundation for its caste census. EC officials noted this contradiction, saying that while the state vouched for the authenticity of the voter data, the Congress leader was simultaneously casting doubts on it.
The Aditya Srivastava Case – No Evidence of Multiple Registrations
Another claim Gandhi made involved a man named Aditya Srivastava, whom he said was registered to vote in three states: Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. He presented Srivastava’s photo and voter ID number during a press conference.
However, scrutiny on the EC website show that Srivastava is only registered in Karnataka. No entries for him were found in the voter rolls of Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) or Maharashtra.
Gandhi had claimed that Srivastava appeared four times on the rolls twice in Karnataka, once in Maharashtra, and once in Lucknow. But according to EC records, there is currently no such duplication. Earlier this year, the Election Commission stated it had removed multiple duplicate entries from electoral rolls across states, and Srivastava’s case may have been addressed during that process.
Further clarifying the situation, the Uttar Pradesh Election Commission stated that Srivastava is registered only in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Bengaluru Urban, countering Gandhi’s allegations.
Muni Reddy Garden: 80 Voters at One Address
Rahul Gandhi also alleged large-scale voter irregularities in Booth No. 470 of the Mahadevapura Assembly segment, specifically pointing to a tiny house in Muni Reddy Garden that he claimed had 80 people fraudulently registered at the address.
Local investigation confirmed that the house in question barely 10-15 sq ft is currently rented by Dipankar, a delivery worker who moved in recently. Dipankar said he has no voter registration in Bengaluru and doesn’t recognize the names listed at his address.
The property owner, Jayaram Reddy, acknowledged being a BJP supporter and admitted that many tenants had previously registered to vote using that address. While most had moved away, he said some still return during elections to cast their votes.
Reddy admitted he hadn’t informed authorities of the outdated entries but said he would now do so. He confirmed that names of roughly 80 people still appear on the voter list for the property, even though most no longer live there.
Booth Level Officer Munirathna corroborated these findings, explaining that many migrant workers obtain voter IDs using rental agreements and later relocate. Despite moving, their names often remain on the electoral rolls. Though these “shifted” voters have been reported to the Election Commission, deletion of their names is pending due to bureaucratic delays. Some voters also refuse to be removed from the rolls, citing the utility of the ID and their occasional return to vote.
Rahul Gandhi Demands Transparency, Cites ‘Vote Chori’
At a recent press conference in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi doubled down on his accusations, claiming that over one lakh fake votes existed among the 6.5 lakh voters in the Mahadevapura segment. He demanded the Election Commission release 10 years of voter data and surveillance footage, warning that failure to do so would amount to “hiding a crime.”
“If you attack the ‘One Man One Vote’ principle, we will confront you,” Gandhi said, as he called for nationwide accountability in electoral processes.
Despite the seriousness of the accusations, the Election Commission insists that due process is being followed and that many of Gandhi’s examples lack substantiated evidence. Officials have asked the Congress leader to submit formal complaints rather than relying on press briefings and public protests.
Rahul Gandhi’s claims of large-scale voter fraud are increasingly being challenged by official data and ground-level investigations. While issues like outdated voter lists and procedural delays do exist, the specific allegations he has made so far, including cases in Bengaluru and alleged duplicate voter registrations, appear to lack credible proof based on current findings.
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