Rahul says ‘vote chori’ being run from call centres, demands CEC accountability

September 19, 2025 by News Desk

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of presiding over what he called a “massive voter fraud” ahead of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Gandhi said he had “100% proof” that thousands of voters were deliberately struck off the rolls using fake applications routed through call centers.

According to Gandhi, over 6,000 names were almost deleted in Aland constituency before a Booth Level Officer (BLO) and local Congress MLA flagged the irregularities. He said that the deletions were not accidental but part of a coordinated operation “controlled from outside Karnataka” through call centers that generated bogus requests.

“The CID of Karnataka wrote 18 letters to the Election Commission over 18 months, asking for technical details, IP addresses, device ports, OTP trails, to identify where these deletion requests came from. The Commission never responded,” Gandhi said, accusing the poll body of deliberately stonewalling the investigation.

Gandhi also presented citizens who said their names had been wrongly targeted for deletion. Some alleged that deletion requests were filed in their names without their knowledge, underscoring how the process was manipulated.

The Congress leader claimed this pointed to a wider conspiracy to suppress voters in select constituencies, particularly those considered unfavourable to the ruling party. “This is not clerical error; this is systematic vote theft,” he said.

One of Gandhi’s most sensational claims was that the deletions were being operated through call centers. He said requests to remove voters’ names were filed remotely, in bulk, often from outside Karnataka, and in some cases from outside the state entirely. “This is how democracy is being hacked, from a call center,” he alleged.

As per Election Commission rules, deletions from the electoral roll can only be carried out after due verification by Booth Level Officers. Every proposed deletion must be publicly notified, objections invited, and the final order passed by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). Gandhi said none of these procedures were followed in the cases flagged in Aland, calling it a “clear subversion of constitutional process.”

The BJP rejected Gandhi’s charges, calling them “baseless” and “a desperate attempt to undermine the credibility of Indian elections.” Party spokespersons said the Congress was “spreading lies after repeated electoral defeats” and accused Gandhi of trying to “delegitimize institutions” for political gain.

The Election Commission too dismissed the allegations, stating that no deletions were carried out without following due process. It said that when attempts were made to fraudulently delete names in Aland, the Commission itself directed an FIR to be lodged and corrective action was taken. “The Commission has always acted promptly to protect the integrity of the rolls,” an official statement said, insisting that Gandhi’s narrative was misleading.

Senior Congress leaders, including Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, have backed Gandhi’s claims, accusing the ECI of shielding those responsible for the fraud. The party has demanded that the Commission release the technical trail of the deletions and disclose the origins of the requests.

“The refusal to give details is itself proof of complicity,” Gandhi said. “This is not just about one constituency, this is about the future of Indian democracy.”