Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will visit Bengaluru on August 4 to lead a protest against alleged electoral malpractice and submit a representation to the Election Commission.
The protest follows his recent explosive claims that the Congress has uncovered a systematic method of "vote theft" by closely studying one Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, news agency PTI reported.
Gandhi, who has accused the BJP of "stealing elections" across the country, had earlier stated that his party had conducted an in-depth analysis of electoral rolls in a Karnataka constituency, converting paper records into digital format to detect irregularities. According to him, this process revealed a "bhayankar chori" (massive theft) of votes.
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“We have it in black and white,” Gandhi had declared on July 23. “We took the full voters’ list of one constituency, digitised it over six months, and discovered their entire method, how they do it, who is involved, and how new voters are brought in.”
{{/usCountry}}“We have it in black and white,” Gandhi had declared on July 23. “We took the full voters’ list of one constituency, digitised it over six months, and discovered their entire method, how they do it, who is involved, and how new voters are brought in.”
{{/usCountry}}The protest in Bengaluru is being organised by the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), and state party leaders are finalising the event's details, the report added.
Home Minister G Parameshwara confirmed Gandhi’s participation and said a formal representation would be submitted to Election Commission officials after the event.
"Rahul Gandhi has raised his voice against irregularities in elections. He had said that such practices occurred in Karnataka too, so he is coming here to meet Election Commission officials. He will be in Bengaluru on August 4," Parameshwara told reporters.
According to preliminary plans, Gandhi is expected to address party workers at Freedom Park. However, no processions will be held, as per existing High Court orders prohibiting such gatherings in the city. “The programme will be conducted in accordance with the court’s directions,” the Home Minister added.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has echoed Gandhi’s concerns, alleging that the Congress suffered setbacks in the recent Lok Sabha elections due to “illegal manipulation” of the electoral process by the BJP, aided by the misuse of the Election Commission. He claimed that suspicious additions and removals of names from voter rolls were reported by Congress workers in multiple constituencies across the state.
Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar also backed the allegations, stating that he had personally investigated the Bangalore Rural constituency and found “a lot of golmal” in the voter lists.
The planned protest comes amid a national row over the revision of electoral rolls in states like Bihar, and adds to growing scrutiny of India’s electoral process ahead of key upcoming assembly elections and the 2026 delimitation.
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