Rahul accuses BJP, ECI of 'vote theft'

KARACHI: India’s Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has once again accused the ruling BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of conspiring to rig elections, calling the alleged manipulation of votes an act of “treason”.

In a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, the Congress leader doubled down on his earlier claims of electoral fraud, naming more states where he alleged irregularities had taken place.

“Vote theft is not just an electoral scam; it is a major betrayal committed against the constitution and democracy. Let the nation’s culprits hear this -- times will change, punishment will surely be meted out”, Gandhi said.

The statement follows remarks made by Gandhi during a meeting of the opposition INDIA alliance on Thursday evening, where he alleged that a “huge criminal fraud” had occurred during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He cited a survey in Karnataka that, according to him, revealed six key irregularities: multiple entries for the same voter, duplicate registrations across states, false addresses, clusters of bulk voters at single residences, unclear photographs on voter IDs and misuse of Form 6, which is used for enrolling first-time voters.

Gandhi also accused the poll body of crafting a “choreographed schedule” for state assembly elections in collusion with the BJP and claimed that the ECI refused to share digital versions of voter rolls.

The Election Commission responded strongly to Gandhi’s allegations, calling them an “absurd analysis” and urging the Congress leader to back his claims with a formal declaration under oath.

“If Rahul Gandhi believes in his analysis and believes that his allegations against the Election Commission of India are true, he should have no problem in signing the declaration. If he does not sign the declaration, it would mean that he does not believe in his analysis and the resultant conclusions and absurd allegations. In this case, he should apologise to the nation. He has two options”, Indian media quoted ECI sources as saying.