Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has found himself in a fresh confrontation with the Election Commission after he alleged that duplicate voting took place in last year’s Lok Sabha elections. The controversy began when Gandhi, during a recent press conference, shared what he called “proof” — an image purportedly showing two entries for a voter named Shakun Rani, each with slightly different photos and spellings, but both marked as having voted.
In response, the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) wrote to Gandhi, asking him to provide all documents supporting his claim. The letter referenced his statement that the ticks on the voter’s ID record were “made by the polling booth officer.” However, the CEO said that during an inquiry, Shakun Rani herself confirmed she had voted only once, and that preliminary findings showed the tick-marked document Gandhi displayed was not issued by the polling officer, contrary to his assertion.
The Karnataka CEO urged Gandhi to submit specific records to substantiate his claim so a detailed inquiry could be launched. Meanwhile, the Haryana Chief Electoral Officer also sent notices to Gandhi over his separate allegation that ineligible voters had been added and eligible voters excluded from the state’s electoral rolls. The Haryana poll authority has asked him to submit full details of such voters along with a signed declaration under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, within 10 days.
Gandhi has been vocal in his criticism of the Election Commission, accusing it of working in collusion with the BJP to “steal elections.” He claimed that massive voter list irregularities took place in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment in Bangalore Central, citing Congress’s internal research, which allegedly uncovered thousands of duplicate entries, invalid addresses, bulk voters using the same address, and misuse of Form 6 registrations. He argued that these irregularities cost Congress the seat in the 2024 polls despite winning in most other segments of the constituency.
The Election Commission, however, has firmly rejected the allegations, urging Gandhi to either submit formal, signed evidence or refrain from making what it calls “baseless accusations.” Officials also questioned why no official complaint had been filed earlier if such large-scale fraud had been detected. The BJP, seizing on the controversy, has challenged Gandhi to release the full list of allegedly ineligible voters to prove the credibility of his charges.
The dispute has now escalated into a major political flashpoint, pitting the Congress leadership against both the Election Commission and the BJP, while putting pressure on Gandhi to back his claims with verifiable, legal documentation.
