Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission, claiming that thousands of voters were deliberately removed from electoral rolls in Congress strongholds ahead of the 2023 Karnataka assembly elections.
Gandhi, who described the move as a “centralised operation” carried out through software, said he had “100% proof” to back his claims. Addressing a press conference, the Leader of the Opposition pointed to three case studies, which he argued exposed a systematic attempt to delete voters linked to minority and Dalit communities as well as Congress supporters.
‘Booth officer uncovered the scam’
Citing an incident in Aland constituency, Gandhi alleged that attempts were made to strike off 6,018 names. He said the scheme came to light when a booth-level officer discovered her uncle’s name missing and traced it back to a neighbour who had filed a deletion form in his place.
Case 1: Godabai
The first example Gandhi presented was of Godabai, a 63-year-old resident. According to him, a fake login was created in her name and then used to submit applications seeking the deletion of 12 of her neighbours from the voters’ list.
“Godabai has no idea. These numbers used to delete voters aren’t even from Karnataka. Where are they operating from?” Gandhi asked, while playing a video clip of her. He claimed the deletions were concentrated in booths where Congress had performed strongly in 2018.
Case 2: Suryakant
The second case involved Suryakant, who allegedly filed 12 deletion forms in just 14 minutes. Gandhi said one of those targeted was a woman named Babita Choudhari. Both Suryakant and Babita were present at the press meet, where Gandhi stressed that such speed was impossible without technological intervention.
Case 3: Nagaraj
The third case focused on Nagaraj, who, Gandhi claimed, submitted two deletion applications within 36 seconds, at 4:07 a.m. “Try filling out these forms yourself. It’s impossible manually. This is automation,” Gandhi said, questioning the timing and authenticity of the applications.
Wider Pattern Alleged
Beyond Karnataka, the Congress MP alleged that similar “targeted deletions” had occurred in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, disproportionately affecting Dalits, minorities, and known Congress voters.
The Election Commission, however, rejected Gandhi’s accusations outright. In a statement, it said the claims were “baseless” and stressed that no member of the public could delete a voter’s name online.