Shashi Tharoor Backs Rahul Gandhi's Voter Fraud Charge Amid Internal Rift With Party

Last Updated:August 08, 2025, 13:17 IST

The ECI responded to Rahul Gandhi's claim and asked him to sign the declaration by Chief Electoral Officers of Maharashtra and Karnataka or apologise.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor (Image: PTI/File)

Amid an internal rift with the party, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday backed Rahul Gandhi’s voter fraud claims. Taking to X, Tharoor stated that the questions asked by Gandhi must be addressed.

Taking to X, Tharoor reshared a post by Congress’s official X handle and wrote,"These are serious questions which must be seriously addressed in the interests of all parties & all voters. Our democracy is too precious to allow its credibility to be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness or worse, deliberate tampering. @ECISVEEP must urgently act & @SpokespersonECI should keep the nation informed."

His remark came only a day after Rahul Gandhi released data alleging a vote theft of more than one lakh in the Mahadevapura assembly segment of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP’s PC Mohan retained the Bangalore Central seat for a fourth straight term, narrowly defeating his Congress rival. Mohan secured 6,58,915 votes, edging ahead by just 32,707 votes over the Congress candidate, who polled 6,26,208. With this win, the BJP continues to hold all four Lok Sabha constituencies within Bengaluru’s city limits.

“Congress research found over one lakh duplicate voters, invalid addresses, and bulk voters in the Mahadevapura constituency in Karnataka," Gandhi said during a press conference.

EC Responds To Rahul Gandhi’s Charge

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday responded to Rahul Gandhi’s claim and asked him to sign the declaration by Chief Electoral Officers of Maharashtra and Karnataka or apologise for his “absurd" allegations, PTI sources said

ECI sources said, “If Rahul Gandhi believes in his analysis and believes that his allegations against ECI are true, he should have no problem in signing the Declaration."

ECI asked Rahul Gandhi to apologise if he does not sign the affidavits.

“If Rahul Gandhi does not sign the Declaration, it would mean that he does not believe in his analysis and resultant conclusions and absurd allegations. In which case, he should apologise to the nation. Therefore, he has two options: Either sign the Declaration or apologise to the Nation for raising absurd allegations against ECI," sources said.

Anushka Vats

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...Read More

Anushka Vats is a Sub-Editor at News18.com with a passion for storytelling and a curiosity that extends beyond the newsroom. She covers both national and international news. For more stories, you can follow her...

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August 08, 2025, 13:17 IST

News india Shashi Tharoor Backs Rahul Gandhi's Voter Fraud Charge Amid Internal Rift With Party

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