The Election Commission (EC) has dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent claim of voter fraud, asking him to submit documentary proof to support his allegations.

On Thursday, Gandhi presented what he described as evidence of “vote theft” during an INDIA bloc meeting, citing the case of a 70-year-old woman, Shakun Rani. He alleged that she had been added to the voter list twice within two months using Form 6 — meant for first-time voters — and questioned whether she or someone else cast votes in her name.

Gandhi also claimed that two votes were recorded using Ms Rani’s voter ID, showing a tick-marked document he said came from a polling officer. However, the EC stated that its inquiry found Ms Rani voted only once and that the document shown by Gandhi was not issued by any polling officer.

In a five-point reply, the poll panel asked Gandhi to provide records proving that Ms Rani or any other individual had voted twice so it could conduct a detailed investigation. The Commission also reiterated its earlier stance that Gandhi’s claims amounted to a “distorted and baseless analysis.”

Gandhi had said the Congress sought a digital voter list and CCTV footage from polling booths, but the EC refused, prompting the party to conduct its own investigation. He accused both the EC and the BJP of colluding to “steal elections.”

Following the INDIA bloc meeting, the EC had urged Gandhi to either submit his allegations under oath or apologise publicly. The BJP has backed the poll body, with party leader Amit Malviya challenging Gandhi to name ineligible voters as per Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, warning that failure to do so would expose his claims as political theatrics.

The opposition alliance is now planning a march from Parliament to the EC headquarters in Delhi on Monday, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also set to host a dinner for INDIA bloc MPs the same evening.

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