Rahul cites cases of fake logins in Aland, saying voters like Godabai and Babita were unknowingly used in deletion frauds targeting Congress booths.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, September 18, 2025 – The Election Commission of India’s rebuttal of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s explosive charges that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar shielded “vote chors” has done little to blunt the sting of the Congress leader’s disclosures.
To begin with, Kumar himself admitted that attempts were made to delete voters in Karnataka’s Aland constituency in 2023, and that an FIR was filed in this regard. But the admission came only after Congress MLA B.R. Patil flagged the matter.
This raises several unanswered questions that the ECI must clarify:
Taking exception to Gandhi’s charge that Kumar was protecting “vote chors,” the poll watchdog said no voter can be deleted online by the public and insisted that due process requires giving the affected person an opportunity to be heard. It confirmed that “unsuccessful attempts” to delete voters had indeed taken place in Aland and that an FIR had been lodged by the Commission itself.
Rahul Gandhi, however, dismissed the Election Commission of India’s rebuttal as inadequate. Reacting the same day, he described the Commission’s response as nothing more than “unsigned, evasive notes,” unworthy of a constitutional body entrusted with safeguarding free and fair elections. Gandhi asserted that the ECI must issue proper, signed explanations instead of hiding behind intermediaries or press statements.
He reiterated his demands that the Commission:
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publish consolidated, machine-readable voter rolls for recent Lok Sabha and state assembly elections,
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release post-5 pm CCTV footage from polling booths, and
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provide all digital and forensic data — including IP addresses and OTP trails — that the Karnataka CID has been seeking.
“Evasion will not protect the Commission’s credibility, only the truth will,” Gandhi declared. He stressed that his demands were not political theatrics but essential steps to defend democracy and citizens’ constitutional right to vote. “If you have nothing to hide, let the Election Commission formally produce the evidence. Let the data speak.”
After our Aland candidate exposed the fraud, the local EC official filed an FIR, but the CID investigation has been – BLOCKED by CEC.
The Karnataka CID has written 18 letters in 18 months requesting all incriminating evidence – BLOCKED by CEC.
The Karnataka EC has sent multiple… https://t.co/l6vOv2nNga
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 18, 2025
WHY EC IN THE DOCK?
Thet the ECI has yet to explain when these attempts came to its notice, what the status of the investigation is, and which agency was assigned to probe the matter. In an era of advanced digital forensics, its failure to trace the culprits raises troubling questions.
READ: Rahul Gandhi Accuses CEC Gyanesh Kumar of Running a ‘Vote Chori Factory’
Equally striking was the Commission’s silence on Gandhi’s second charge: the addition of nearly 6,850 voters in Maharashtra’s Rajura constituency. “This kind of vote chori hasn’t just happened in Aland,” Gandhi said, “in Rajura, voters were added in the same fraudulent manner.”
At the press conference, Gandhi showcased five pieces of evidence from Aland, including the case of a woman named Godabai, whose identity was used to create fake logins in a bid to delete 12 voters. She appeared in a video played by Gandhi, saying she had no knowledge of such deletions. “Someone created fake logins in her name and tried to delete voters. She had no idea,” Gandhi said.
In another case, a man named Suryakant allegedly filed 12 deletion forms in just 14 minutes, including one for a voter named Babita Chaudhary. Both were present with Gandhi at the press conference and denied any knowledge of such applications. “The system shows Babita’s vote was deleted by Suryakant, but neither of them knew about it,” Gandhi claimed.
He argued these were not isolated mistakes but evidence of a centrally coordinated, software-driven operation. According to him, software was used to target the “first name” in each booth’s voter list, with deletion requests filed using phone numbers from outside Karnataka. “This was not worker-level activity, this was call-centre level,” Gandhi alleged, stressing that the top 10 booths with the highest deletions were Congress strongholds.
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
Without naming the Supreme Court, Gandhi added: “My task is to participate in democracy, not to protect it. That duty lies with other institutions. What can I do if they are not discharging their responsibilities?”
The Congress leader accused CEC Kumar of personally protecting those responsible. “Vote chori karne wale yaad rakhen – hum aapko pakdenge aur kadi karrawai hogi,” he warned. Gandhi also revealed that whistleblowers within the ECI itself were now helping him gather evidence.
READ: Rahul Nudges Judiciary: Says Institutions Must Step Up to Safeguard Democracy
Today’s allegations follow his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, where he had promised “explosive” disclosures. Former CEC S.Y. Quraishi has called for an independent probe, terming the Commission’s defense “objectionable and offensive.”
With Bihar Assembly polls approaching, Gandhi’s charges have sharpened political battle lines. Congress, RJD, and TMC allege that the ECI rushed voter roll revisions to benefit the BJP. Critics, meanwhile, say Kumar’s statements resemble those of a ruling party spokesperson.
