Shivakumar ignored voter-list lapses: Ex-Karnataka minister writes to Rahul Gandhi

Former Karnataka Cooperation Minister and Madhugiri MLA KN Rajanna had written to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi seeking an appointment to explain his remarks on ‘Vote Chori’, weeks after he was removed from the Karnataka Cabinet.

The letter, dated November 17, became public only on Tuesday. There was no confirmation on whether Rahul Gandhi responded to his request.

Rajanna was sacked on August 11 from the Siddaramaiah government after he stated that “vote theft” happened “right in front of our eyes” during the 2024 Lok Sabha election, remarks that embarrassed the party soon after Rahul Gandhi had accused the BJP government at the Centre of coming to power through “vote theft”.

In his letter, Rajanna said his comments were misrepresented and asked Rahul Gandhi to take action against those who allegedly distorted his words. He said the purpose of his outreach was “to place before you the truth of the statement I made” and to personally explain the circumstances.

Rajanna asserted that he had fully supported Rahul Gandhi’s Vote Chori campaign and even participated alongside him during the Bengaluru programme. He also underlined his long association with the Congress and admiration for the Nehru family.

The MLA blamed internal lapses, particularly at the Booth Level Agent (BLA) level, for alleged voting irregularities. He said BLAs appointed by the KPCC “have not performed their responsibility”, and named KPCC president and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar in his letter.

“If our KPCC President Shri DK Shivakumar and the concerned officials had paid proper attention to these lapses, it could have been prevented,” Rajanna wrote, citing the alleged presence of over a lakh bogus voters in Mahadevapura under the Bengaluru Central constituency.

According to him, the Congress could have won “eight to ten additional seats in Karnataka” and “30 to 40 more seats nationally” if such lapses had been addressed. “In such a situation, Shri Narendra Modi would not have become the Prime Minister our beloved young leader Shri Rahul Gandhi ji would have become the Prime Minister,” he wrote.

Rajanna attached a translated copy of the interview he had given to the media and said he wanted to clarify that his intention was not to challenge the party, but to highlight organisational failures.

- Ends