Indian democracy being subverted thru' systematic, centralised attempts at 'Vote Chori': CM

Bengaluru, Sep 18 (PTI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "revelation" that votes of party voters were being systematically deleted in a targeted manner, has exposed how Indian democracy is being subverted through systematic and centralised attempts at "Vote Chori" (vote theft).

He alleged that the BJP attempted "Vote Chori", and the Election Commission is blocking the investigation into it.

Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting "vote chors" and people who have destroyed democracy, and cited data from Karnataka's Aland Assembly constituency to claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.

In Aland, someone tried to delete 6,018 votes and got caught by coincidence, Gandhi said, alleging that names of voters of the Congress were being deleted systematically.

The Election Commission, however, dubbed Gandhi's charges "incorrect and baseless" and asserted that no deletion of votes can happen without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person.

In a post on 'X', Siddaramaiah said, "The revelations made today by the Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha), Rahul Gandhi have once again exposed how Indian democracy is being subverted through systematic and centralised attempts at Vote Chori. The Aland case in Kalaburagi is not an isolated incident but a window into a larger conspiracy to manipulate electoral rolls and deny citizens their right to vote." Noting that between February 2022 and February 2023, 6,018 Form 7 applications were filed through Election Commission apps to delete names from the voters' list of Aland Assembly Constituency, he said, on inquiry, only 24 were genuine; 5,994 were fraudulent.

"Stolen voter details, fake logins, and mobile numbers from outside Karnataka were used to impersonate applicants. Entire families were targeted for deletion without their knowledge. A case was registered, and the CID began an investigation," he said.

Pointing out that for 18 months, the Karnataka CID has repeatedly asked the Election Commission for technical details - destination IPs, device ports, OTP trails - which are essential to identify where this operation was run from and who was behind it, the CM alleged, the ECI has refused to share this data.

"Today, instead of addressing these specific demands, ECI brushed aside the charges as incorrect and baseless, claiming no deletions can happen without due process. But the hard questions remain unanswered: why has crucial digital evidence been withheld, despite 18 reminders?" he asked.

Evidence presented by Gandhi shows this was no local mischief. Software was used to impersonate the first voter in each booth, fake numbers were inserted, and deletions were concentrated in Congress strongholds, Siddaramaiah said.

Similar operations have been uncovered in Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh - and earlier in Bengaluru Central's Mahadevapura constituency, where large-scale irregularities in voter rolls came to light, he said.

"This raises serious questions: Was Aland only the tip of the iceberg? In 2018, the BJP won the seat narrowly. In 2023, nearly 6,000 deletions were attempted. In 2024, the BJP again led in this segment. How many such manipulations have gone undetected in other constituencies? How many results were influenced?" the CM asked.

The truth is simple -- the BJP attempts "Vote Chori", and the Election Commission is blocking the investigation, he further said, "by refusing to share data, the ECI is protecting the guilty instead of protecting democracy." Demanding on behalf of the people of Karnataka that the Election Commission immediately hand over all technical details - IP logs, device ports and OTP trails - to the CID within one week, Siddaramaiah said, if the Commission fails to do so, it will stand exposed as complicit in shielding those who are destroying democracy.

"I want to tell the people of Karnataka and the youth of India: This is about the sanctity of your vote and your future. Congress will not allow the Vote Chori to succeed. We will continue this fight until accountability is fixed and democracy is safeguarded," he added. PTI KSU KH