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Rahul Gandhi criticizes Election Commission: Demands three types of information including allegations of 'vote theft'
New Delhi, September 18, 2025: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has once again taken the centre stage on the issue of 'vote theft' while making serious allegations against the Election Commission. He has demanded three types of information from the Election Commission to ensure transparency and protect the democratic process. Speaking at a press conference in Delhi on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi claimed that there was a large-scale tampering with the voter list in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and alleged collusion between the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for this.
Rahul Gandhi's main allegations
In his press conference, Rahul Gandhi, citing the Mahadevpura assembly constituency in Karnataka, claimed that there were about 1,00,250 fake voters. He mentioned five types of irregularities in this regard:
Duplicate voters: The name of the same person was registered in multiple places.
Fake and invalid addresses: Wrong or fake addresses were registered in the voter list.
Multiple voters at one address: A large number of voters were registered at a single address.
Invalid photo: Blurry or incorrect photo was used in the voter list.
Misuse of Form 6: Allegation of misuse of Form 6 for voter registration.
Addressing the Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi said, “You are not in the business of destroying Indian democracy, but in the business of protecting it. This is a crime against the Indian Constitution and the Indian flag.” He further claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were ‘certain’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to steal only 25 seats to remain in power.
Demand for three pieces of information from the Election Commission
Rahul Gandhi has demanded the following three types of information from the Election Commission:
Digital voter list: The Election Commission should release the voter list in digital format so that political parties and the public can independently audit it.
Storage of CCTV footage: CCTV and webcasting footage from polling stations should be preserved for more than 45 days so that it can be used as evidence.
Transparency in Special Intensified Review (SIR): The Special Intensified Review (SIR) process in Bihar should be made transparent and the names of voters excluded and the reasons for it should be made public.
He termed the SIR process in Bihar as ‘institutional theft’ and claimed that it had harmed minority and migrant voters. He inaugurated a 1,300 km long ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ in Bihar in this regard, covering over 20 districts.
Election Commission’s response
The Election Commission has termed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations as ‘baseless’ and ‘insulting the Constitution’. Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar said, “Misleading the public by using words like vote theft is an insult to the Constitution.” The Commission has asked Rahul Gandhi to file an affidavit to provide evidence for his claims or he should apologise to the country. The Chief Election Officers of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana have asked Rahul Gandhi to file a formal complaint regarding his claims, but the Commission has clarified that no such complaint has been filed by the Congress.
Former Election Commissioners' Advice
Three former Election Commissioners told the India Today South Conclave that Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar's aggressive tone and demand for an affidavit on Rahul Gandhi's 'vote theft' claims were inappropriate. They said the Election Commission should investigate the matter and maintain public faith in the electoral process. Former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Qureshi said, "If there are serious complaints, they need to be investigated, not just for the satisfaction of the Leader of the Opposition but for the satisfaction of the entire country."
BJP's counterattack
The BJP has strongly criticised Rahul Gandhi's allegations, calling them "defamatory of democracy". BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya claimed that the Congress and its allies have secured the highest vote share in the last 35 years in the 2024 elections. He tried to refute some of the evidence presented by Rahul Gandhi, but independent users showed that the EPIC numbers on the voter ID cards submitted by Malviya did not match the details in the voter list, which has raised questions about the BJP's claims.
Voter List Review Controversy in Bihar
The Special Intensified Review (SIR) process in Bihar has also created controversy. The process, which took place between June and July 2025, verified 78.9 million voters. In this process, the names of about 6.5 million voters were deleted, due to which the opposition has demanded the disclosure of this data and the reasons behind it. Rahul Gandhi has called it a conspiracy to 'steal the Bihar elections'. Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court in this regard, demanding the disclosure of the names of the deleted voters and the reasons behind it.
Rahul Gandhi's strategy
Rahul Gandhi has tried to make voters in Bihar aware through his 'Voter Rights Yatra'. He has claimed that,
New Delhi, September 18, 2025: Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has once again taken the centre stage on the issue of 'vote theft' while making serious allegations against the Election Commission. He has demanded three types of information from the Election Commission to ensure transparency and protect the democratic process. Speaking at a press conference in Delhi on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi claimed that there was a large-scale tampering with the voter list in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and alleged collusion between the Election Commission and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for this.
Rahul Gandhi's main allegations
In his press conference, Rahul Gandhi, citing the Mahadevpura assembly constituency in Karnataka, claimed that there were about 1,00,250 fake voters. He mentioned five types of irregularities in this regard:
Duplicate voters: The name of the same person was registered in multiple places.
Fake and invalid addresses: Wrong or fake addresses were registered in the voter list.
Multiple voters at one address: A large number of voters were registered at a single address.
Invalid photo: Blurry or incorrect photo was used in the voter list.
Misuse of Form 6: Allegation of misuse of Form 6 for voter registration.
Addressing the Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi said, “You are not in the business of destroying Indian democracy, but in the business of protecting it. This is a crime against the Indian Constitution and the Indian flag.” He further claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were ‘certain’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to steal only 25 seats to remain in power.
Demand for three pieces of information from the Election Commission
Rahul Gandhi has demanded the following three types of information from the Election Commission:
Digital voter list: The Election Commission should release the voter list in digital format so that political parties and the public can independently audit it.
Storage of CCTV footage: CCTV and webcasting footage from polling stations should be preserved for more than 45 days so that it can be used as evidence.
Transparency in Special Intensified Review (SIR): The Special Intensified Review (SIR) process in Bihar should be made transparent and the names of voters excluded and the reasons for it should be made public.
He termed the SIR process in Bihar as ‘institutional theft’ and claimed that it had harmed minority and migrant voters. He inaugurated a 1,300 km long ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ in Bihar in this regard, covering over 20 districts.
Election Commission’s response
The Election Commission has termed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations as ‘baseless’ and ‘insulting the Constitution’. Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar said, “Misleading the public by using words like vote theft is an insult to the Constitution.” The Commission has asked Rahul Gandhi to file an affidavit to provide evidence for his claims or he should apologise to the country. The Chief Election Officers of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana have asked Rahul Gandhi to file a formal complaint regarding his claims, but the Commission has clarified that no such complaint has been filed by the Congress.
Former Election Commissioners' Advice
Three former Election Commissioners told the India Today South Conclave that Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar's aggressive tone and demand for an affidavit on Rahul Gandhi's 'vote theft' claims were inappropriate. They said the Election Commission should investigate the matter and maintain public faith in the electoral process. Former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Qureshi said, "If there are serious complaints, they need to be investigated, not just for the satisfaction of the Leader of the Opposition but for the satisfaction of the entire country."
BJP's counterattack
The BJP has strongly criticised Rahul Gandhi's allegations, calling them "defamatory of democracy". BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya claimed that the Congress and its allies have secured the highest vote share in the last 35 years in the 2024 elections. He tried to refute some of the evidence presented by Rahul Gandhi, but independent users showed that the EPIC numbers on the voter ID cards submitted by Malviya did not match the details in the voter list, which has raised questions about the BJP's claims.
Voter List Review Controversy in Bihar
The Special Intensified Review (SIR) process in Bihar has also created controversy. The process, which took place between June and July 2025, verified 78.9 million voters. In this process, the names of about 6.5 million voters were deleted, due to which the opposition has demanded the disclosure of this data and the reasons behind it. Rahul Gandhi has called it a conspiracy to 'steal the Bihar elections'. Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court in this regard, demanding the disclosure of the names of the deleted voters and the reasons behind it.
Rahul Gandhi's strategy
Rahul Gandhi has tried to make voters in Bihar aware through his 'Voter Rights Yatra'. He has claimed that,
Rahul Gandhi's main allegations
In his press conference, Rahul Gandhi, citing the Mahadevpura assembly constituency in Karnataka, claimed that there were about 1,00,250 fake voters. He mentioned five types of irregularities in this regard:
Duplicate voters: The name of the same person was registered in multiple places.
Fake and invalid addresses: Wrong or fake addresses were registered in the voter list.
Multiple voters at one address: A large number of voters were registered at a single address.
Invalid photo: Blurry or incorrect photo was used in the voter list.
Misuse of Form 6: Allegation of misuse of Form 6 for voter registration.
Addressing the Election Commission, Rahul Gandhi said, “You are not in the business of destroying Indian democracy, but in the business of protecting it. This is a crime against the Indian Constitution and the Indian flag.” He further claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were ‘certain’ and Prime Minister Narendra Modi needed to steal only 25 seats to remain in power.
Demand for three pieces of information from the Election Commission
Rahul Gandhi has demanded the following three types of information from the Election Commission:
Digital voter list: The Election Commission should release the voter list in digital format so that political parties and the public can independently audit it.
Storage of CCTV footage: CCTV and webcasting footage from polling stations should be preserved for more than 45 days so that it can be used as evidence.
Transparency in Special Intensified Review (SIR): The Special Intensified Review (SIR) process in Bihar should be made transparent and the names of voters excluded and the reasons for it should be made public.
He termed the SIR process in Bihar as ‘institutional theft’ and claimed that it had harmed minority and migrant voters. He inaugurated a 1,300 km long ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ in Bihar in this regard, covering over 20 districts.
Election Commission’s response
The Election Commission has termed Rahul Gandhi’s allegations as ‘baseless’ and ‘insulting the Constitution’. Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar said, “Misleading the public by using words like vote theft is an insult to the Constitution.” The Commission has asked Rahul Gandhi to file an affidavit to provide evidence for his claims or he should apologise to the country. The Chief Election Officers of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana have asked Rahul Gandhi to file a formal complaint regarding his claims, but the Commission has clarified that no such complaint has been filed by the Congress.
Former Election Commissioners' Advice
Three former Election Commissioners told the India Today South Conclave that Chief Election Commissioner Dnyanesh Kumar's aggressive tone and demand for an affidavit on Rahul Gandhi's 'vote theft' claims were inappropriate. They said the Election Commission should investigate the matter and maintain public faith in the electoral process. Former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Qureshi said, "If there are serious complaints, they need to be investigated, not just for the satisfaction of the Leader of the Opposition but for the satisfaction of the entire country."
BJP's counterattack
The BJP has strongly criticised Rahul Gandhi's allegations, calling them "defamatory of democracy". BJP's IT cell head Amit Malviya claimed that the Congress and its allies have secured the highest vote share in the last 35 years in the 2024 elections. He tried to refute some of the evidence presented by Rahul Gandhi, but independent users showed that the EPIC numbers on the voter ID cards submitted by Malviya did not match the details in the voter list, which has raised questions about the BJP's claims.
Voter List Review Controversy in Bihar
The Special Intensified Review (SIR) process in Bihar has also created controversy. The process, which took place between June and July 2025, verified 78.9 million voters. In this process, the names of about 6.5 million voters were deleted, due to which the opposition has demanded the disclosure of this data and the reasons behind it. Rahul Gandhi has called it a conspiracy to 'steal the Bihar elections'. Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court in this regard, demanding the disclosure of the names of the deleted voters and the reasons behind it.
Rahul Gandhi's strategy
Rahul Gandhi has tried to make voters in Bihar aware through his 'Voter Rights Yatra'. He has claimed that,
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