Has Rahul Gandhi Exposed Voter Fraud in Mahadevapura?

Bengaluru, Aug 8 (NationPress) In response to Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegations of voter fraud in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency of Bengaluru, the Karnataka BJP asserted on Friday that the party has consistently achieved an increase in its vote share in this region.

During a press conference held at the state BJP headquarters, Jagannath Bhavan, on Thursday, former Minister and BJP leader Arvind Limbavali stated: "We have participated in elections in Mahadevapura in a fair and organized manner. The BJP has seen organic growth there. Rahul Gandhi needs to grasp this reality. Recently, he was blaming the EVMs, and now he’s targeting the voters' list."

Arvind Limbavali is the spouse of BJP MLA Manjula Arvind Limbavali, who represents the Mahadevapura Assembly seat.

"Rahul Gandhi has claimed that the BJP has engaged in malpractice in collusion with the Election Commission, presenting a PowerPoint focused on Mahadevapura. He alleged there are 40,009 fake and invalid votes; 10,452 bulk voters at the same address; misuse of Form 6 with 33,692 entries; and 11,965 duplicate voters. He also cited 4,132 voters with unclear or improper photographs," Limbavali added.

"A reality check was performed. For instance, one Gurukirit Singh's name appeared four times in the voters' list because he applied multiple times for inclusion, all of which were declined. Yet, his name showed up in different locations, and he later requested deletion three times," he explained.

In another instance, Aditya Srivastava, originally from Lucknow, registered there at age 19. Later, he registered in Mumbai for his job and eventually voted in Bengaluru. He also submitted a correction request via Form 7. Claims about fake addresses were investigated, revealing 13 individuals, but they weren’t added despite applications. The claims regarding bulk voters are unfounded, he asserted. Investigations into double voting revealed that those voters had only voted once, not twice," Limbavali elaborated.

The Mahadevapura constituency was established in 2008, derived from the previous Varthur constituency along with K.R. Puram and C.V. Raman Nagar.

Since its inception, the BJP has secured victories in all four Assembly and four Lok Sabha elections held in the region.

"In 2008, there were 2,75,328 voters, with 1,46,404 votes cast," Limbavali mentioned.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the number of voters increased to 3,14,000, with 1,50,080 votes cast.

By the 2013 Assembly election, the voter count rose to 3,68,210, with 2,26,749 individuals casting votes.

Limbavali also shared statistics from the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, and the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

During the 2023 Assembly elections, there were 6,07,135 voters, with 3,29,841 participating.

For the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the voter count was 6,59,733, with 3,51,535 voting.

The current count of voters in Mahadevapura stands at 6,80,514.

"With the increasing influx of migrants, the voter count has risen significantly. There is also a substantial number of individuals relocating out of the state. In three Lok Sabha and three Assembly elections, the BJP achieved over one lakh votes each time," Limbavali remarked.

"The BJP's vote share has shown consistent growth. In the 2019 election, BJP's P.C. Mohan won by 69,974 votes. From Mahadevapura alone, the BJP had a lead of 72,559 votes. This time, Mahadevapura contributed a lead of 1,14,046 votes, and P.C. Mohan won by a margin of 32,707 votes," he stated.

Limbavali contended that Rahul Gandhi provided misleading information to the media on Thursday.

"He claimed Congress led in seven Assembly seats while the BJP won solely due to the lead in Mahadevapura. This is false. In the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP led in four Assembly seats: Rajajinagar, Gandhinagar, C.V. Raman Nagar, and Mahadevapura," he clarified.

"We achieved victory with leads in four constituencies, winning with a margin of 32,707 votes," he concluded.

"Mahadevapura is experiencing rapid growth. In 2016–17, there were 1,48,743 properties, and the BBMP collected Rs 361 crore in taxes. By 2024–25, the property count is expected to reach 3,59,468, with tax collection projected at Rs 885 crore."

"One day, I will ask Chief Minister Siddaramaiah what he has provided to this constituency in return for all the taxes collected," the BJP leader remarked.

If panchayat areas are included, the constituency boasts over five lakh properties, he noted.

"Rahul Gandhi, using the example of Mahadevapura, has alleged that vote theft occurred in one Lok Sabha seat, extending that claim to 25 seats nationwide."

"If you are commencing your national campaign with Mahadevapura, should we regard your statement with respect or question your grasp of facts?" Limbavali added.

He pointed out that in the Varuna constituency (held by CM Siddaramaiah) in Part No. 8, there exists a house numbered "00."

He provided documentation and questioned, "If that is the case, isn’t even Siddaramaiah's seat compromised?"

The BJP leader concluded, "This is just one example. I didn’t even have six months like Rahul Gandhi; I prepared all this in just 24 hours."