Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi had claimed last week that the Election Authority of India had enabled Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to promote “vote theft” in the 2024 general elections.
Gandhi, a prominent person of the Indian National Congress (INC) party, said at a press conference that the election role in a major state was manipulated in favor of Prime Minister Modi in the last year’s elections.
The opposition leader said that the party found the party a lot of discrepancies after analyzing the election data published by the country (ECI).
The Election Counter Commission of India (ECI) quickly denied Gandhi’s claims, while the BJP opposed trying to make “a state of chaos” by reducing public confidence in the election process.
The opposition block had staged a protest in the capital, calling Parliament to hold a session to discuss the allegations. The ghandi was expanded to other opposition leaders in New Delhi on Monday, as he marched at the ECI office to protest.
“This fight is not political; This fight is to save the Constitution,” Gandhi said after it expanded.
What are the claims on this basis?
Opposition analysis was focused on Mahadevpura assembly constituency part of the city of Bangalore assembly section in southern Karnataka state. The official vote count has lost the election to the BJP candidate by more than 114,000 votes.
But Gandhi alleged that there is evidence of misconduct in more than 100,000 entries in Mahadevpura’s election role for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
He alleged that duplicate voters, fake addresses, wholesale voters, invalid photographs and new voter registration form were misused.
In one example, he claimed that 46 voters from different families listed a single-bedroom house as proof of their residence. Hey, when the Congress employee visited the address in question, people did not live there.
He said how safe is the idea of “one man, one vote” in India. Gandhi pointed to ECI’s refusal to share digital voter rolls, only providing non-machine-elective data and restricting access to CCTV footage of polling booths, which, he, he, claimed to “steal” in the election.
He accused similar electoral misconduct in the state elections in Haryana and Maharashtra in October and November 2024.
India’s general election is considered to be the largest democratic practice in the world, in which around one billion people cast their votes in 2024 to elect 543 members of the lower house of Parliament.
This huge venture is maintained by ECI and includes 15 million election offices 28 states and eight center areas. Voting is done in stages and it takes 6 weeks to complete.
Last year, Modi’s BJP lost its absolute majority, but managed to remain in power and win 240 seats. The Congress party claimed 99 seats.
How are the ECI and BJP responding?
In a post on X, ECI said that Gandhi was trying to avoid the process and mislead Indian voters.
In a statement, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) dismissed Gandhi’s claims, indicating that the election results could be challenged only through a petition before the High Court.
The Commission urged Gandhi to provide documentary evidence under the oath.
The ECI said on X, “Sign the announcement on the issues you mentioned in the Ether press conference, which you believe that you are true, or apologize to the nation.”
However, Om Prakash Rawat, a former Chief Election Commissioner of India, said that the DW ECI should be requested to directly address the clock claims to directly address the claims.
“In the past we have always found the facts and put them in a public domain to settle everything. It harasses the case as asking for the oath, creates confusion among the public,” Heer said.
In turn, the BJP became aggressive against the Congress leader, national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that Gandhi would have to resign from Parliament if he does not believe in ECI.
The ruling party asked him to submit the announcement under the oath.
In a post on X, the BJP accused Gandhi of “spreading lies, avoiding evidence, misleading democratic institutions and public.”
Gandhi allegedly listed the hotel as a voter address
India has a very large migrant population, many of which use ID cards, to find a form of identity and work. Many often lie their temporary addresses to apply for voters ID, which can explain to many people listed under the same address.
A report by Indian express The newspaper found that houses and hostels were paid to some of the addresses highlighted by Gandhi.
In addition, wrong residential addresses use new voter registration form instead of one to transfer, which has the ability to create several entries.
However, ECI’s software should mark many entries of the same person in the voter list.
What can happen next?
During Modi’s tenure, ECI has faced its share of controversies. This includes a new law changing the process to appoint the head of the election body and its mute for Modi’s speeches using inflammatory rhetoric towards Muslims in last year’s elections.
Gandhi’s voters come as Frau allegations as ECI faces a rapid investigation on the controversial amendment of the voter list in the eastern state of Bihar before its November elections.
Talking to DW under the condition of anonymity, a senior journalist who spent a decade to cover the ECI, said that there were always allegations of electoral misconduct.
“This doubt is not new. For example, after the BJP’s loss in the 2004 elections, some party members claimed that the voting machines were rigged. A BJP leader also wrote a book that argued that electronic voting machines coated,” Hey Satid.
However, Gandhi’s allegations come at the time of high polarization and “have intensified the existing apprehensions among voters about the fairness of the electoral process”.
He said that ECI should “work transparently” to restore confidence.
Edited by: Wesley Rahan
