Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has renewed allegations that the Election Commission colluded with the ruling BJP to commit large-scale voter fraud in Karnataka and Maharashtra last year, and is preparing to do so in Bihar during the upcoming polls via a “special intensive revision” of the voter list.
Speaking outside Parliament, Gandhi claimed illegal votes were cast “systematically” across multiple seats, accusing the poll body of failing in its constitutional duty to uphold the “one person, one vote” principle. He cited alleged proof, including cases in Karnataka where 1.02 lakh illegal votes were recorded, such as 80 voters registered to the same one-room address, contributing to Congress’ loss in Bengaluru Central by 33,000 votes.
The opposition has demanded the EC release machine-readable voter lists instead of scanned images to allow error checks, and staged protests on Monday that led to the detention of Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Akhilesh Yadav, and others.
The EC has denied all charges, insisting its processes are transparent, and challenged Gandhi to submit his claims under oath with proof. The BJP has accused him of political theatrics and “maligning a constitutional body.”
The Bihar voter list revision is currently under Supreme Court scrutiny.