During the INDIA Bloc’s dinner meeting on Thursday evening, Rahul Gandhi presented a detailed PowerPoint on alleged voter fraud, focusing on irregularities he claims occurred during elections in Karnataka and Maharashtra. This was his second presentation of the day, aimed at highlighting what he described as the BJP’s “vote theft” with alleged support from the Election Commission.
Armed with a PowerPoint that included photo evidence of fake voters, Gandhi walked 50 leaders from 25 parties through what he called six main irregularities uncovered in a survey conducted in Karnataka. These included the same voter appearing multiple times on rolls, voters registered at non-existent addresses, and bulk voters listed at a single address. Gandhi also alleged misuse of Form 6 for first-time voters and issues with indistinguishable photos on voter IDs.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi had sparked a political controversy with these allegations, prompting the Election Commission to demand that he submit a formal request for an investigation or a sworn statement on the claims.
Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi, commenting on the meeting, described it as “positive,” noting that Gandhi’s presentation raised concerns not just in Karnataka but also in other states, including Bihar. “What is happening in Bihar today can happen anywhere in the country,” Gogoi stated.
The meeting also saw key figures from various opposition parties, including CPI’s D Raja, who described the discussions as “meaningful,” addressing issues related to voter enrollment and the functioning of the Election Commission. National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah voiced concerns over the alleged “vote theft” and criticized the recent ban on 25 books by prominent authors, calling it unconstitutional.
Other attendees included Congress leaders, NCP’s Sharad Pawar, PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti, SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee, and several Chief Ministers, including Siddaramaiah of Karnataka and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu of Himachal Pradesh.
Looking ahead, INDIA Bloc leaders are planning a protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission on August 11 against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar. Rahul Gandhi is also scheduled to lead a march to the Karnataka Election Commission office in Bengaluru on Friday, protesting what he calls manipulation in the state’s voter list.
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