Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, has leveled accusations of vote theft against the Election Commission, presenting data from the Mahadevpura assembly seat in Karnataka to support his claims. During a press conference, he addressed concerns about the perceived bias within the election commission. Gandhi stated that until the election commission and voter lists are not compromised, neither EVMs nor ballot papers can ensure a fair election. He emphasized the need for an impartial election commission for any electoral system to be effective, claiming the current situation is akin to having an umpire biased towards the opposing team.
He accused the Election Commission of involvement in the irregularities, claiming the integrity of the election system is compromised. Gandhi suggested judicial intervention might be necessary to address the issue.
Gandhi referred to internal surveys indicating the Congress party’s expectation of winning 16 seats in Karnataka, but only securing 9. He analyzed the Mahadevpura assembly constituency’s data from the 2024 elections, which he received from the Election Commission. In the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won with a margin of 32,707 votes, securing 658,915 votes. In the Mahadevpura assembly segment, the Congress received 115,586 votes, while the BJP received 229,632 votes. Gandhi highlighted the significant disparity in the Mahadevpura constituency, which contributed to the BJP’s victory in the Lok Sabha elections. He alleged that approximately 12,050 votes out of 650,000 votes in the Mahadevpura assembly were stolen.