The Election Commission has dismissed allegations from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding “vote chori,” labeling them as “incorrect and baseless.” In a detailed statement, the Election Commission emphasized that no vote can be deleted online by any member of the public, as misrepresented by Gandhi.
The Commission underscored that any deletion of votes would require an opportunity for the affected individual to be heard. However, they did confirm that there had been certain unsuccessful attempts to delete elector information in the Aland Assembly Constituency in 2023, which led them to file a First Information Report (FIR) to investigate the matter.
According to the Election Commission, the Aland Assembly Constituency was won by Subhadh Guttedar of the BJP in 2018, while BR Patil of the Indian National Congress secured victory in 2023.
On September 18, Rahul Gandhi raised concerns specifically about the Aland constituency in Karnataka, alleging that an attempt was made to fraudulently delete approximately 6,000 votes using software. He stated, “In Aland, Karnataka, 6018 votes, somebody tried to delete these votes.” He further recounted an incident where a Booth Level officer discovered that a relative’s vote had been deleted, leading to the realization that a neighbor’s vote had similarly disappeared.
Gandhi claimed that the neighbor was unaware of any wrongdoing, suggesting that an outside force had manipulated the system, which the officer fortuitously uncovered.
The allegations have been part of a broader narrative by the opposition, which accuses the Election Commission of India of colluding with the BJP to alter voter rolls fraudulently in various elections. Gandhi has also highlighted alleged fraud during the Maharashtra Assembly elections and related issues in segments like Karnataka’s Mahadevpura.
Additionally, Gandhi criticized the Election Commission for allegedly “not cooperating” with an ongoing investigation by the Karnataka Crime Investigation Department (CID) regarding the voter fraud in Aland. He claimed the inquiry had been stalled for more than two years due to the Commission’s failure to respond to the CID’s requests for information. He urged the ECI to provide the requested data within a week.
Gandhi further accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of “protecting vote chors” (vote thieves), asserting that the ECI is aware of individuals fraudulently manipulating voter lists. He stated, “Last letter was sent on September (2025), few days ago. No reply. This is the proof that Gyanesh Kumar is protecting vote chors.” He questioned who was utilizing software to systematically delete votes of certain demographics, particularly among OBC, Dalit, and marginalized communities supporting opposition parties.
