K'taka: Cong reiterates misuse of EC by BJP, warns of agitation

Bengaluru, July 26 The Congress-led government in Karnataka has reiterated its allegation that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) misused the Election Commission of India (ECI), and has warned of an agitation, accusing the ECI of failing to respond to questions raised by the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister as well as State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar made statements on the issue while addressing the media separately on Friday after attending the 'Bhagidari Nyay Sammelan' in Delhi.

Commenting on the misuse of the ECI by BJP, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, "During the last Lok Sabha election, eligible voters were removed from the voters' list, and new names were added -- people who are not actual voters of that constituency. That is the issue Rahul Gandhi raised, both inside and outside the Parliament."

"This is happening across the state. Take Bengaluru Central Parliamentary constituency, for example. Why did we receive fewer votes in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency? In all other Assembly constituencies, we were leading. But the lead in Mahadevapura wiped out the leads we had in the rest. How is that possible?" the Chief Minister asked.

The Bengaluru Central Parliamentary seat was won by BJP MP P.C. Mohan.

"Rahul Gandhi has evidence showing how eligible voters were removed and how ineligible voters were included. We will approach the court. But by the time the matter is resolved in court, another election will be upon us. We've seen how slowly election-related cases are handled," Siddaramaiah said.

Explaining how the manipulation of electoral rolls takes place, the Chief Minister said, "They don't do this in every constituency -- only in select ones."

"I was also shown a demonstration of how EVMs can be manipulated. This did not happen during the state Assembly elections, but during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections," he claimed.

When asked about the ECI's announcement that electoral rolls would be revised nationwide, Siddaramaiah said, "They change the voters' list itself. We've seen it happen. One list is shared earlier, and on the day of the election, an entirely different voters' list appears."

"We have submitted several complaints in the past, but the ECI has responded negatively," he added, commenting on the ECI's statement that they did not receive any complaint or objection by the Congress during elections.

Meanwhile, accusing the ECI of turning a deaf ear to its questions on vote stealing, Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar warned of an agitation if the matter is not addressed and resolved.

Speaking to a news media on issue of vote stealing, he said, "I completely agree and support Rahul Gandhi's statement on vote stealing. He has done a lot of research on the topic. We will also provide additional proof on this and stand behind Rahul Gandhi."

"I have also reviewed the election process in Bengaluru and we have observed huge difference in voting percentages from one booth to another. The addition of voting booths is also not in order. As per our study in Mahadevapura constituency, there are huge discrepancies. A team of legal experts worked on this," he added.

Asked if Congress party lost many seats due to this, he said, "It is not a question of win or loss but a question of transparency and trust in the system."

Asked if vote stealing had taken place in Bengaluru Rural Parliamentary constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, he said, "Yes, there is vote fraud in this constituency. We had thought the margin would be 7,000 to 8,000 votes but the eventual margin was over 1 lakh votes. It has come to our notice that there was a lot of planning for this."

Shivakumar's younger brother and former Congress MP D.K. Suresh was defeated by the BJP candidate C.N. Manjunath, the son-in-law of former Prime Minister and JD-S founder H.D. Deve Gowda.

"Similarly, there are no proper records for 60,000 votes in Mahadevapura Assembly constituency alone in Bengaluru. We will place appropriate records before the House," Shivakumar said.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor