'Salim-Javde's Amusing Script': Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis ridicules Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote fraud
In a dramatic turn of events, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of manipulating votes in the Mahadevapura constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The allegations, which claim over 1 lakh fake or dubious votes were cast, have sparked a heated debate and a call for transparency.
Gandhi's claims centre around various categories of irregularities, such as duplicate voters, fake or invalid addresses, bulk registrations at single addresses, invalid voter ID photos, and misuse of Form 6 for first-time voters. However, the ECI has asked Gandhi to provide documentary evidence supporting these allegations, as per the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) has issued a notice in response, asking Gandhi to substantiate his claims. The Congress and Rahul Gandhi have launched public campaigns, including a website named "votechori.in", demanding transparency and the release of electronic voter data and CCTV footage to audit the voter rolls.
The BJP and former Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali have dismissed the claims as baseless, attributing irregularities to administrative factors like voter address changes not being fully updated in records and printing errors in voter ID cards. Limbavali also mentioned that though some voters have multiple entries due to not deleting previous addresses, they have voted only once.
Independent ground checks, such as one by India Today, have confirmed some unusual findings, lending some credence to Gandhi’s concerns about bulk registrations and fake addresses. For instance, 80 voters were reportedly registered at a tiny 10-15 sq ft house in Muni Reddy Garden.
Meanwhile, the ECI has stated they are ready to carry out a comprehensive revision of the voter list. However, Rahul Gandhi has asked not to carry out the revision, fearing it might obscure evidence of vote manipulation. The controversy is ongoing, with no conclusive official adjudication or public release of electronic data as of August 2025.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party won all Vidhan Sabhas in Karnataka except for the Mahadevapura constituency, where the BJP won with a margin of 32,707 votes. The total votes polled in Mahadevapura were 6.26 lakhs, with the BJP polling 2,29,632 votes and the Congress polling 1,15,586 votes.
Rahul Gandhi's allegations have not been taken lightly by the BJP. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis compared Gandhi's allegations of fraud by the ECI to a script written by Bollywood duo Salim-Javed. Fadnavis also accused Gandhi of looking for excuses to explain his party's defeat in the 2024 general elections and questioned his understanding of the voter list revision process.
Gandhi has also claimed that when they went to check the addresses with the alleged vote theft, no record of the people living there was found. He alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes in the Mahadevapura constituency segment in Karnataka. He further stated that one family was living in the house where the alleged vote theft occurred.
The controversy over the Mahadevapura constituency's election results has raised questions about the integrity of India's electoral process. As the ECI and the judiciary investigate Gandhi's allegations, the public waits with bated breath for a resolution to this ongoing saga.
The controversy over the Mahadevapura constituency's election results has sparked intense discussions in the realm of policy-and-legislation, as the integrity of India's electoral process is at stake. It has also ignited a fiery debate in politics, with Rahul Gandhi attempting to prove the manipulation of votes and the BJP denying the allegations. The general news is abuzz with updates on this ongoing saga, as the public eagerly awaits a resolution from the ECI and the judiciary.
