New Delhi, Aug 7 (NationPress) During a significant press briefing, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, raised serious allegations regarding extensive electoral fraud within the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Karnataka’s Bangalore Central constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He indicated that such practices are prevalent nationwide as well.

With evidence gathered over a six-month period by a dedicated team of approximately 30-40 individuals, the senior Congress leader accused the Election Commission (EC) of partnering with the BJP to manipulate voter registrations, obstruct oversight, and facilitate widespread voter theft.

LoP Gandhi reported that the Congress garnered 6,26,208 votes in Bangalore Central, while the BJP received 6,58,915 votes, resulting in a margin of 32,707.

Yet, a closer inspection of the Mahadevapura Assembly segment revealed a striking inconsistency. Here, the BJP received 2,29,632 votes, compared to the Congress’s 1,15,586 votes, a shocking discrepancy of 1,14,046 votes.

According to LoP Gandhi, approximately 1,00,250 votes were unlawfully taken from this one Assembly segment, with similar occurrences reported throughout the nation.

“Initially, we identified duplicate voters. A total of 11,965 entries showed duplication across various booths and even states. Names like Gurkirat Singh and Aditya Shrivastava appeared multiple times, with Shrivastava’s name found in different states including Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh,” stated LoP Gandhi.

“Secondly, there were instances of fake or invalid addresses, with 40,009 voter entries listing non-existent or evidently false addresses (for example, house number ‘0’ or symbols like ‘-’ or ‘#’).

“We uncovered thousands of such cases, and interestingly, in some instances, voters' fathers’ names were recorded as ‘dfojhaidf’... Such occurrences raise serious concerns about why the EC is reluctant to disclose the data,” he added.

Elaborating on the issue of numerous voters registered at a single address, he remarked, “Certain locations, such as House No. 35, had 80 registered voters in a one-room dwelling. Another site, a brewery, reported 68 voters registered, prompting serious legitimacy questions.”

“When our representatives attempted to verify these claims, they faced threats, and in several locations, they were informed that no such individual resided there,” he recounted.

LoP Gandhi also highlighted 4,132 invalid entries that either lacked photos or contained images too small or unclear for identification, along with the misuse of Form 6 by 33,629 voters.

He stressed that this is why the electoral body refuses to share soft copies of voter rolls or permit a thorough audit of the data. He further accused officials of destroying CCTV footage to conceal evidence of misconduct.

“This is not merely a local issue. The events in Mahadevapura mirror a nationwide trend,” LoP Gandhi asserted.

“Prime Minister Modi needed to win only 25 seats to maintain power. The BJP achieved these with margins under 33,000. This is the reason the EC is concealing the data — it is protecting a crime, not democracy,” he alleged.