Unpacking the Karnataka CEO Letters That Have Gyanesh Kumar Under Voter Fraud Scrutiny

BY Navin Upadhyay

An examination of the 13 letters penned by Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Office (CEO) to the Election Commission of India (ECI) between February 2023 and February 2025 paints a disturbing picture of  voter fraud charges and an unsettling lack of response from the nation’s electoral watchdog.

The correspondence, centered on a high-profile investigation into the alleged forgery of nearly 6,000 voter deletion applications in the Aland Assembly constituency, reveals a concerted effort to manipulate electoral rolls ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.

Despite repeated pleas for critical digital evidence—detailed in documents like the February 4, 2025, letter (DPAR 85 CHUMAPA 2023(P-1)) and supported by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)—the ECI’s persistent silence over two-and-a-half years has raised serious questions about its commitment to safeguarding India’s democratic process.

The case, first flagged by Congress MLA B.R. Patil in early 2023, has drawn national attention amid broader accusations of “vote theft” by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who cited it as evidence of systemic electoral irregularities. Despite an FIR being filed by local election authorities themselves, the probe by Karnataka’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) remains stalled, with investigators pointing to the ECI’s reluctance to share digital footprints as a major roadblock.

Here is the link (https://t.co/5j2qFsCPJA) to the letter written by the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to the Election Commission of India (ECI). It includes, as attachments, letters written by the Karnataka CID to the ECI.

It shows:
– multiple requests by the CID for…

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 18, 2025

The Forgery Plot:

A Near-Miss for 5,994 Voters. The controversy erupted in February 2023, just months before the Karnataka Assembly polls, when suspicious Form 7 applications—used to request the deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls—began surfacing in Aland, a rural constituency in Kalaburagi district known for its tight electoral contests. Aland, with a significant Lingayat and backward-class voter base, had seen B.R. Patil lose by a razor-thin margin of 697 votes to BJP’s Subhash Guttedar in 2018. In 2023, Patil reclaimed the seat by over 10,000 votes, but only after a frantic effort to thwart what he described as an “organized attempt to steal votes.”

According to an FIR (No. 26/2023) registered at Aland Police Station on February 21, 2023, by then-Returning Officer Mamata Devi (also Assistant Commissioner, Kalaburagi), a staggering 6,018 Form 7 applications were filed online via the National Voters’ Service Portal (NVSP) and Voter Helpline apps. Ground verification revealed that only 24 were legitimate—pertaining to voters who had genuinely relocated. The remaining 5,994 were outright forgeries: applications submitted in the names of unsuspecting voters to delete the names of others, often entire households, claiming they had “shifted residence.”

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Calculated Bid

“This was no random error; it was a calculated bid to target Congress-leaning voters,” Patil told reporters recently, echoing claims that the deletions disproportionately affected supporters of his party. One affected voter, speaking anonymously to The Hindu, recounted how his sister’s role as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) led to the discovery: “We received notices to delete our family’s names, but no one had moved. The applications were filed using someone else’s details from our village—pure impersonation.”

Patil, alerted by local party workers, mobilized 38 affected voters to file complaints with the Aland Tehsildar. Their representations triggered the verification process, which saved the votes in time for the May 2023 polls. Had the deletions succeeded, analysts estimate it could have swung the constituency, amplifying the national stakes in what Gandhi has branded a “vote chori” (vote theft) epidemic.

Election Commission of India must stop protecting Vote Chors.

They should release all incriminating evidence to Karnataka CID within 1 week. #VoteChoriFactory pic.twitter.com/Abiy1OHLQP

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 18, 2025

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Escalating Frustration: 13 Reminders from Karnataka CEO to ECI:

The CEO’s latest letter, marked DPARS 85 CHUMAPA 2023(P-1) and addressed to ECI Principal Secretary Pramod Kumar Sharma, compiles a exhaustive list of 13 prior communications dating back to March 2023. These include:

• Orders from the Deputy Commissioner (Kalaburagi) on March 29, 2023, and follow-ups on February 21, 2023, urging police action.
• Multiple letters to the ECI on March 30, 2023, April 29, 2023, and subsequent dates in June and July 2023.
• Emails and directives to the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Aland) on June 21, 2023, and August 3, 2023.
• A key ECI letter (No. 30/KT/2023/15791) dated August 18, 2023, acknowledging the probe but delaying data sharing.

Enclosed copies of Deputy Superintendent of Police (CID, Bengaluru) letters from January 19, 2024, and February 1, 2025, underscore the urgency. The February 25, 2025, email from Joint Chief Electoral Officer Yogeshwara S. further amplifies the plea, attaching the full dossier for “kind perusal.”

The core demand?

Access to ECI’s ICT (Information and Communication Technology) division records on the forged applications, submitted via NVSP, Voter Helpline (VHA), and Garuda apps. Investigators seek:

1. OTP/Multifactor Authentication (MFA) Details: Whether platforms like NVSP and VHA adopted OTP/MFA, and if extended to uploads. If so, login credentials and mobile numbers used.
2. User and Log Controls: Mobile numbers provided in forms, IP addresses, and session logs from where applications originated—crucial for tracing external actors, as Patil alleges filings came from outside Karnataka using automated software.
3. 65B Electronic Evidence Certificates: Under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, mandatory for admissibility of digital records as secondary evidence. This ties directly to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Arjun Panditrao Khotkar vs. Kailash Kushanrao Gorantyal (July 14, 2020), which clarified that electronic records require such certification to produce in court, especially for “lawful control/user from where the logs were created during the investigation.” The judgment emphasized that without it, digital evidence lacks probative value, potentially dooming the case.

The Cyber Crime Division of Karnataka’s CID has issued parallel directives on February 25, 2025 (signed by Deputy Superintendent H.N. Vasanath Kumar), reiterating the need for destination IPs, ports, and OTP logs. “During the course of investigation, the previous investigating officer requested IP logs… Time along with Destination IPs and Destination Ports are missing,” the letter notes, warning that without this, the probe into forgery, impersonation, and false documentation under IPC Sections 463, 464, 465, and 468 cannot progress.

A Test for Electoral Integrity:

The Aland saga has fueled a national firestorm. Rahul Gandhi, in a September 2025 press conference, lambasted the ECI for “protecting those attacking Indian democracy,” claiming deletions were executed “like in call centers using software.” The ECI rebutted, admitting “unsuccessful attempts” in Aland but insisting an FIR was filed by its own authority and notices/hearings were issued to electors.

Yet, with the CID’s 12+ letters unanswered over two-and-a-half years, critics decry it as evidence of institutional bias.Patil, now Deputy Chairman of the Karnataka State Policy and Planning Commission, is seeking Congress high command approval for a Supreme Court writ of mandamus to compel ECI disclosure.

“This isn’t just about Aland; it’s about safeguarding every vote,” he said, vowing to expose the “masterminds” behind what he calls a blueprint for rigging in closely contested seats.

The ECI has yet to respond publicly to the February letters. Patil’s camp eyes a March 2025 SC hearing if needed, framing it as a public interest battle. For now, Aland’s voters—whose ballots were nearly erased—wait for justice, their story a stark reminder that in India’s democracy, the real fight often begins after the polls.