"No Record": Poll Body Denies Congress Leader's Claim Of Forged Voter List

In a development that adds fresh fuel to the ongoing controversy around alleged voter roll manipulation, the Karnataka State Election Commission has officially responded to a letter from H Nagesh -- the Congress candidate from Mahadevapura, who lost in the assembly elections from the same constituency in 2023. 

In response to his letter, the Commission has said it has no record of any submission made by him in April 2023 regarding forged entries in the constituency's voter list.

In his letter dated July 31, Mr Nagesh had requested a copy of a document he claims to have submitted last year, listing alleged bogus voters in the 174-Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency. 

He said his team had misplaced the original documents listing forged entries in the voters list.

The Election Commission, however has responded saying it has no such document on record and noted that Mr Nagesh had also not filed any petition or appeal challenging the 2023 voter list under relevant provisions of the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951.

"This office does not have records of any such letter received from you during April 2023 on the issue of electoral rolls," read the letter from the Election Commission. 

The reply, issued by Joint Chief Electoral Officer Yogeshwar S, also emphasized that statutory electoral rolls are publicly available online and are also handed to all contesting candidates, including Mr Nagesh, at the time.

Interestingly Rahul Gandhi has been raising the same issue and has been accusing the Election Commission of failing to act on credible evidence of electoral fraud.

Rahul Gandhi will be in Bengaluru on August 5, where he will lead a major protest at Freedom Park against the Election Commission and the BJP.