- The Election Commission called Rahul Gandhi's claims of voter fraud 'recycled and misleading'
- Rahul Gandhi had alleged voter fraud benefiting the BJP in the Maharashtra and Karnataka elections in 2024
- The EC had demanded Rahul Gandhi submit proof of his charges in a self-signed affidavit
The Election Commission snapped back at Rahul Gandhi Friday evening and called his allegations - about voter fraud in collusion with the Bharatiya Janata Party - "new wine in an old bottle".
The panel pointed out the Congress had "tried to mislead the Supreme Court" in 2018, referring to a petition by ex-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath about mistakes in the state roll.
The Congress had then sought searchable access to the voter list - based on claims 36 voters may have been double-registered, an error the EC said had been rectified - but the court turned them down.
"Now, in 2025, they (the Congress), being aware that the same trick cannot be played in the court, tried to mislead the people by claiming irregularities in the electoral rolls... that same names are occurring at different places," the Election Commission said in a post on X.
The poll panel cited one example - a voter by the name of Aditya Srivastava who was registered in three different states. "In fact, the name... was rectified months ago," the EC said.
The Election Commission also hit back at the Congress and Mr Gandhi's repeated demands for a searchable version of the voter list, i.e., in a format that will allow for scanning of names and addresses to highlight possible duplications or other errors.
"The Kamal Nath judgement gives a settled position with respect to a machine-readable document and raising the same issues repeatedly shows Mr Gandhi has no respect for the Supreme Court."
In 2018 the top court had acknowledged the EC is bound to publish draft voter lists in a .pdf file, but also noted the law does not require the file to be in a searchable, or machine-readable, format.
The respondent, i.e., the poll panel, has the right to decide the format, the court said.
The law provides a specific procedure for flagging possible errors in the list and filing appeals, the Election Commission said today, criticising Mr Gandhi for trying to "sensationalise the issue by making baseless claims in the media". The EC then repeated its own challenge to Mr Gandhi.
READ | "Absurd Analysis": Poll Body Slams Rahul Gandhi Over Voter Fraud Charge
"Therefore, if Rahul Gandhi believes in his analysis, and believes his allegations are true, he should have respect for the law and sign a declaration... or apologise to the nation..."
Rahul Gandhi's 'Vote Chori' Charge
On Thursday Mr Gandhi fired up PowerPoint presentations, at meetings of the INDIA opposition bloc, to back his claim of widespread voter fraud. He said that fraud cost his party seven Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka in May 2024 and lost it the Maharashtra election in November.
He said the Congress' internal inquiries had focused on the Mahadevapura Assembly seat in the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency, and said there were 1.02 lakh fraud votes.
READ | "Rahul Gandhi Confused...": '80-Member House' Owner Rebuts Vote Fraud Claim
The Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat was eventually won by the BJP's PC Mohan; he defeated the Congress' Mansoor Ali Khan by 32,707 votes to claim a fourth consecutive term.
Mr Gandhi doubled down on his allegations this morning at a rally in Bengaluru and dished out a strong warning to the Election Commission. "Think twice before attacking the Constitution," he said.
The BJP's Amit Malviya, meanwhile, scoffed at the Congress leader, and said, "... he (is) indulging in political theatre only to obfuscate facts, plant doubts in people's minds, and tarnish the image of a constitutional body entrusted with free and fair elections."
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