Polls being 'stolen'; will bring out 'vote theft' in black and white with Karnataka example: Rahul

Amid the raging row over revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday (July 23, 2025) alleged that elections are being "stolen" in India and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the "vote theft" by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka.

Mr. Gandhi said he would put before the people and the Election Commission in black in white on how the "theft of votes" is being done.

His remarks came after it emerged that during house-to-house visits in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar, poll officials have so far found that more than 52 lakh voters were not present at their addresses, and another 18 lakh have died.

"It is not just about 52 lakhs. It is not just about Bihar, they cheated in Maharashtra. We have asked questions of the Election Commission, asked them to show us the voters list, but they did not show us the voters list. We asked for videography, they changed the law. One crore new voters had come in Maharashtra, and the election was stolen," Mr. Gandhi told reporters in Parliament House complex.

“In Karnataka, we have found out ‘bhayankar chori’ (massive theft). I will show it in black and white to you and the Election Commission. I will show in black and white how the ‘chori’ is done and from where. We have it in black and white in Karnataka,” the former Congress president said.

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"They know that we have understood their game. We picked one constituency and did a deep dive. Problem is that they give a voters list on paper and paper list cannot be analysed. We took the full voters list of one constituency, we put it on digital format, it took six months but we have uncovered their whole system, how they do it, who votes and from where new voters are brought," Mr. Gandhi said.

He said the Election Commission has understood this and has brought in a new system in Bihar which is that to delete voters.

"In India elections are being stolen that is the reality of India," Mr. Gandhi alleged.

Sharing a video of his remarks on X, Mr. Gandhi said, "We showed everyone how match-fixing happened in Maharashtra. We investigated one Lok Sabha seat in Karnataka - large-scale votes theft was found, we will soon bring it before the public." In Bihar, votes of SC, ST, OBC, and minority brothers and sisters are being stolen in the name of SIR , he claimed.

"We will not sit quietly. The INDIA bloc will fight the battle for people's rights from Parliament to the streets," Mr. Gandhi said.

The Opposition has been protesting in both houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging that the EC's exercise was aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections.