In a bold accusation during a parliamentary session, Rahul Gandhi targeted BJP and the Election Commission, alleging 'vote theft'. He specifically pointed out discrepancies in Bengaluru Central's electoral roll. To delve deeper, India Today investigated these allegations with a focus on booth number 470 in Mahadevapura, near the city's IT corridor and Outer Ring Road.
The investigation led us to House No. 35 in Muni Reddy Garden, which Rahul Gandhi claimed to have about 80 voters fraudulently registered.
Currently, Dipankar, a food delivery employee from West Bengal, resides in this cramped 10-15 square foot house, having moved in just a month ago. He expressed having no registered vote in Bengaluru and denied recognizing any names linked to the address on the voter list.
'I am just a BJP voter...'
Dipankar indicated that the house belongs to Jayaram Reddy, whom he described as related to BJP. Upon contact, Reddy admitted his association with BJP but later clarified he was merely a voter, not an activist. Reddy admitted that while many tenants lived there over the years and registered as voters, most have moved out. However, he noted some return during elections to cast their ballots.
Jayaram Reddy confessed he had never informed election officials about these discrepancies before, but has now pledged to do so. In a conversation with India Today, he confirmed the presence of 80 registered voters at the address, even though housing that many is impossible. He stated that many have relocated to other states or districts like Odisha, Bihar, and Mandya. Still, 'some of them', he admitted, return to vote during elections.
Read more: 'Election Commission demands affidavit from me, I've been sworn in at Parliament': Rahul Gandhi at Bengaluru rally
During a Thursday press conference, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused that fake names were being added to voter lists, presenting the Karnataka voter list to support his claims.
Rahul Gandhi asserted that out of Mahadevapura constituency's 650,000 votes, over 100,000 had been 'stolen'. The Karnataka State Election Commission has asked him to file a signed affidavit on his claims and questioned why Congress had not filed a formal complaint on the matter.
