DK Shivakumar Backs Rahul Gandhi’s “Vote Theft” Charge, Says Allegations 200% Valid

GG News Bureau

Bengaluru, 19th Sept: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday strongly endorsed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s explosive allegations of “vote theft,” declaring that the concerns raised were “200 per cent valid” and had already been flagged to the Election Commission (EC).

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Shivakumar said: “This issue was raised before the Election Commission earlier also. We have made a number of requests to give us the data. Whatever Rahul Gandhi said is 200 per cent right. This is going on in the entire country. We want the Election Commission to work independently. They are looking at a political angle. Even in Karnataka, they are asking us for the information.”

The Deputy CM’s remarks came after Rahul Gandhi alleged that a large-scale attempt was made to delete voters’ names in Karnataka’s Aland constituency. According to Gandhi, over 6,000 votes were targeted for deletion ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi’s Explosive Allegations

At a press conference earlier in the day, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha accused the Election Commission of shielding “vote thieves.” He claimed that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was fully aware of the alleged fraud and accused him of “protecting vote chors.”

“In Aland, Karnataka, 6,018 votes—somebody tried to delete these votes. We don’t know the total number of votes deleted in the 2023 elections, but somebody got caught. What happened was that the Booth Level Officer noticed that her uncle’s vote had been deleted,” Gandhi said.

He further alleged that a centralised software-driven method was being used to impersonate genuine voters and delete their names. Gandhi claimed he now had “10 per cent proof” of the alleged collusion and was even receiving inside information from people working within the Election Commission.

“India’s people will not accept this. Once the youth come to know that vote chori is happening, their power will come,” Gandhi warned.

Harish Rawat Extends Support

Backing Gandhi’s charges, senior Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat called the claims a revelation of a “harsh truth.” He accused the EC of functioning like a “political party” and evading accountability.

Election Commission Rejects Claims

The Election Commission swiftly dismissed Gandhi’s allegations as “baseless and incorrect,” clarifying that no online vote deletion could be carried out by the public.

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka also issued a statement, explaining that in December 2022, the Election Registration Officer (ERO) in Aland received 6,018 online applications for deletions through Form 7.

“Verification was conducted by ERO/AERO/BLOs. Only 24 applications were found to be genuine, and 5,994 were rejected as incorrect. Accordingly, no names were wrongly deleted,” the statement read. An FIR had also been filed in 2023 to investigate the suspicious applications.

However, Rahul Gandhi has countered that the investigation has been deliberately stalled for over two years, claiming the poll body ignored multiple letters from the CID probing the matter.

Political Storm Ahead

The fiery exchange has triggered a fresh political storm, with Congress sharpening its attack on the Election Commission’s credibility and independence. As the Lok Sabha’s principal opposition leader doubles down on his “vote theft” campaign, the issue is likely to dominate the political discourse in the run-up to future state and national elections.