BJP Karnataka president B Y Vijayendra on Thursday dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of voter fraud in Bengaluru Central as baseless and politically motivated, branding the upcoming ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ in the city as nothing more than a “political gimmick.”
Addressing a press conference, Vijayendra accused the Congress of “double standards,” pointing out that while the party opposes the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list in Bihar, it is now crying foul over alleged bogus voters in Karnataka. “Rahul Gandhi is staging a protest on Friday, but his statements are born out of frustration,” Vijayendra said.
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The Congress protest at Freedom Park is expected to see the participation of Rahul Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, and other senior leaders. On Thursday, Rahul alleged that the Congress led in six of seven Assembly segments in Bengaluru Central but lost due to a huge deficit in Mahadevapura, which he claimed was the result of “1,00,250 stolen votes.”
Vijayendra rejected the charge outright. “There is no truth in Gandhi’s claims, and we don’t take him seriously,” he said. He added that Rahul could have lodged a formal complaint within 45 days of the 2024 election results but failed to do so, noting that it was the losing candidate’s responsibility to raise such objections, not Rahul’s.
{{/usCountry}}Vijayendra rejected the charge outright. “There is no truth in Gandhi’s claims, and we don’t take him seriously,” he said. He added that Rahul could have lodged a formal complaint within 45 days of the 2024 election results but failed to do so, noting that it was the losing candidate’s responsibility to raise such objections, not Rahul’s.
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Taking a swipe at Congress demands for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation, Vijayendra said Rahul’s own remarks were contradictory. “If he is truly concerned about fake, bulk, or duplicate voters, then why is he opposing the voter list revision in Bihar?” he asked.
Vijayendra also recalled that in 2005, when Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, Mamata Banerjee had raised the issue of illegal Bangladeshi voters in West Bengal in Parliament but was suspended for pressing the matter. “The hypocrisy of Congress is clear,” he said.
Mocking Rahul’s claim that surveys predicted Congress would win 16 out of Karnataka’s 28 Lok Sabha seats, Vijayendra remarked, “No survey said that. Only some fools in Congress must have told him so.”