Bengaluru, Nov 8 (NationPress) In a significant signature campaign initiated by Congress leaders to combat voter fraud nationwide, Karnataka has amassed an impressive total of 1,12,40,000 (1.12 crore) signatures, as announced by Deputy Chief Minister and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President D.K. Shivakumar.

During a joint press briefing with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at the Congress office, Bharat Jodo Bhavan in Bengaluru on Saturday, he stated, “We have gathered signatures from all Assembly constituencies and 40 districts where our party has a solid organizational presence. Our dedicated workers have executed this campaign with utmost sincerity. Except for approximately 8-10 locations, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Signatures were collected booth-by-booth, fostering public awareness about voter fraud.”

“The compiled petitions with these signatures will be dispatched to Delhi on November 10. Accompanied by the district presidents who played a pivotal role in this initiative, these petitions will be flown to Delhi.”

A grand public rally is being organized at Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, in the third week of November (specifically on November 25). “Our campaign won’t conclude here — areas that were unable to complete their signatures will have an extension of three to four days,” he added.

“Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, this extensive nationwide campaign through the signature movement aims to safeguard democracy, the Constitution, and voting rights. In the Mahadevapura constituency, a study uncovered over one lakh fraudulent votes. For instance, more than 80 votes were registered at a single residence, and 70-80 voters were listed from one bar. Rahul Gandhi brought this to light with evidence, garnering national attention,” he noted.

“Recently, Rahul Gandhi also revealed 25 lakh fake votes in the Haryana Assembly elections. The core of his struggle is to protect India’s Constitution and democracy. This movement, which originated in Karnataka, will expand nationally to present the people's views to the President and the Election Commission. This is not just a Congress battle — it’s a fight to defend the citizens' right to vote. Participants from various political backgrounds have joined in,” Shivakumar stated.

When inquired whether the Election Commission is rectifying lists to mask fraud, he responded, “After we exposed these irregularities, the Commission abruptly initiated ‘revisions’. Why now? Because we started this movement. To address this, the State Election Commission has opted for its own separate voter list for local body elections, rather than utilizing the central one. This will unveil the extent of fraud.”

Regarding the Haryana incident where a woman allegedly had 200 votes, he remarked, “We've raised concerns wherever fraud is identified — even in instances where we have emerged victorious despite it. In Aland, our candidate won amid such schemes. In Haryana, despite Rahul Gandhi exposing evidence-based irregularities, the Commission took no action.”

“With contemporary technology, how can such fraud persist? The Election Commission itself appears to be complicit,” he alleged.

When asked about requests for CCTV footage from polling stations, Shivakumar clarified, “Rahul Gandhi never demanded to know who voted for whom. We simply want data showing how many individuals entered the booths and at what times. For instance, in Maharashtra, millions of votes were cast in the final hour — we seek records of that.”