The Election Commission has adopted a firm stance on Rahul Gandhi's allegations of discrepancies in the voter list in Karnataka. They have written to the Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, stating that if he has evidence regarding the alleged fraud concerning voters' names, addresses, and identities, he should sign an affidavit with proof. If not, he should retract his statements and stop misleading the public.
In response, Rahul Gandhi stated that as a leader, his public declarations should be considered his oath.
The letter issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka allows Rahul Gandhi to meet on August 8, 2025, from 1 PM to 3 PM. It specifies that Congress was provided with the draft and final voter lists of SSR 2025 in November 2024 and January 2025. Despite this, Congress did not file any primary or secondary objections or appeals.
The manifesto issued by the Election Commission requires Rahul Gandhi to clarify which names he considers fake, their part and serial numbers, and whether his statement is based on personal information. The Commission stated that if Rahul Gandhi provides false information, legal action could be taken against him under Section 31 of the RP Act 1950 and Section 227 of the Indian Penal Code 2023.
My public statement is my oath: Rahul
When questioned about the letter issued by the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi stated, "I am a leader. What I say to the public is my word. I am saying this openly for everyone. Consider it my oath."
Rahul Gandhi further mentioned that the statistics he is referring to are not his but data from the Election Commission. "We are showing the same data that belongs to the Election Commission," he said. Interestingly, the Commission has not denied these statistics. "They have not declared that the voter lists Rahul Gandhi is talking about are incorrect. Why don't you say they are wrong? Because you know the truth. And you know that we know you've done this across the country," he added.
Rahul Gandhi's Allegations
In a press conference, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi accused widescale fraud during elections in various states. He stated that there are dozens of names in the voter list with house numbers listed as zero. Both males and females are included. The father's name column for these voters contains English letters. Using the Bengaluru Central constituency in Karnataka as an example, Rahul Gandhi displayed some names.
He showed the example of a voter named Tika Kumari Acharya on a video screen. This 35-year-old female voter has a house number listed as zero. Her EPIC number is SVF8280943, and her husband's name is YTDTR. He also provided the example of a voter named Tech Raj Sapkota. The father's name for this 40-year-old voter is DFOGADF, and their house number is zero. Their EPIC number is SVF8249344. He claimed that on the same booth, the 38-year-old voter Sarita Devi's father's name is ITSDLHUG with a house number of zero, and they are voters of booth number 432.
Rahul Gandhi stated that there are three types of fraud. Either the address does not exist, the address is zero, the house number is zero, the street number is zero, or the home address cannot be verified. The Congress leader claimed that there are as many as 40,000 such voters.
