ECI Dismisses Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Allegations As “Baseless”, Explains Aland Case

The Election Commission has rejected the claims made by Rahul Gandhi regarding alleged voter deletion in a press conference on Thursday (18 September), stating that no deletion can take place without providing an opportunity for the affected person to be heard.

In an official post tagged #ECIFactCheck, the poll panel said, “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Shri Rahul Gandhi.”

The poll body added that “certain unsuccessful attempts were made for deletion of electors in Aland Assembly Constituency” in 2023 and that an FIR was filed by the ECI itself to investigate the matter.

It also pointed out that Aland was won by BJP’s Subhadh Guttedar in 2018 and by Congress’s BR Patil in 2023.

Speaking at a PowerPoint presentation in the presence of media, Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of shielding those behind what he described as a conspiracy to “destroy Indian democracy.”

He claimed he had “solid proof” that 6,018 applications were filed in Karnataka’s Aland constituency impersonating voters to delete names from rolls, allegedly targeting Congress supporters through software and mobile numbers from outside the state.

Gandhi said the Karnataka CID sent 18 letters over 18 months seeking data, such as IP addresses, destination ports and OTP trails, but got only partial responses, stalling the probe.

“Chronology samajhiye,” he said, presenting a timeline from 2023 FIRs to reminders in 2025.

Calling it “another milestone” in exposing how elections were being “rigged,” he alleged systematic deletions of Dalit, OBC, Adivasi and minority voters across India.

This comes after the Congress leader had last month, citing data from the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, claimed that electoral fraud had taken place in the Maharashtra Assembly elections and in various assembly segments, including in Karnataka's Mahadevpura segment, where he claimed over one lakh fake votes were “stolen.”

In response, the poll panel had asked Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed affidavit and provide proof.

Please click here to add Swarajya as your preferred and trusted news source on Google.

Also Read: Bengaluru’s Rs 18,000 Crore Mega Elevated Corridor Project Clears Key Hurdle, DPR To Be Sent For Karnataka Government Nod