India Today carried out an on-ground probe into Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims of electoral fraud in Bengaluru Central’s Mahadevapura constituency, focusing on Booth No. 470 in the city’s IT corridor.
At the centre of the controversy is House No. 35 in Muni Reddy Garden — a property barely 10-15 sq ft in size. Gandhi alleged nearly 80 voters are wrongly registered here. The current occupant, Dipankar, a food delivery worker from West Bengal who moved in recently, denied having any voter link to the address or recognising names on the roll.
The property owner, Jayaram Reddy, initially acknowledged his BJP association, later clarifying he is simply a party supporter. He admitted that over the years multiple tenants registered as voters from this address, most of whom have relocated to other states or districts like Odisha, Bihar, and Mandya. However, some allegedly return during elections to vote.
Booth Level Officer Munirathna confirmed that many migrant workers along the IT corridor use rental papers to secure voter IDs. Even after vacating, their names often remain due to slow deletion processes. The Election Commission has received a list of “shifted” voters, but removal is pending.
Rahul Gandhi, citing this case, alleged over 1 lakh fake votes in Mahadevapura out of 6.5 lakh. The Karnataka Election Commission has asked him to file a sworn affidavit to substantiate the charge.