‘Not just ECI, they are insulting people’s mandate’: BJP, JD (U) slam Rahul Gandhi over fresh ‘vote theft’ charges

BJP and JD(U) Slam Rahul Gandhi’s Claims on Voter Deletions and Election Commission

In a heated political exchange from New Delhi, BJP and JD(U) leaders fired back at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday. Gandhi had accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of deleting thousands of votes from Congress strongholds using fake logins and a "centralised system." The parties called his allegations baseless and a desperate bid to undermine democracy.

BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain didn’t hold back while speaking to . "They keep promising ‘hydrogen bombs’ of revelations, but all we get are fizzles," he said. Hussain accused Congress of using these claims to dodge their likely election losses and distract from the ECI’s Systematic Identification and Removal (SIR) drive. This initiative cleans up voter lists by removing duplicates, infiltrators, and outdated entries. "People like Pawan Khera with multiple IDs? They’re out. That’s the real issue Congress wants to ignore," he added.

Senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi echoed the sentiment, mocking Gandhi’s "metaphoric hydrogen bombs." "Indian democracy is rock-solid and won’t shake from such drama," Naqvi said. He criticized Congress, which once dominated politics for decades, for now questioning the people’s mandate. "Instead of rallying voters, they’re spreading doubt and discouraging turnout. If they lose, it’s ‘vote theft.’ This isn’t healthy dissent—it’s an attack on our democratic system."

JD(U)’s K.C. Tyagi joined the chorus, dismissing the entire "vote chori" (vote theft) narrative. "If votes are being stolen, how did Congress win big in Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Karnataka? How does Mamata Banerjee keep sweeping West Bengal?" he asked . Tyagi urged the ECI to stay transparent but warned against wild attacks on constitutional bodies like the Election Commission.

The ECI wasted no time responding to Rahul Gandhi’s press conference claims. Gandhi had spotlighted mass voter deletions in Karnataka’s Aland Assembly constituency, alleging 6,018 votes vanished through out-of-state phone numbers and organized fake logins. The poll body labeled these accusations "baseless and incorrect," questioning Congress’s grasp of how elections work.

"No one can delete votes online or without a hearing for the affected person," the ECI clarified. It stressed that public members can’t tamper with voter rolls, and Gandhi’s idea of an "online tool" for deletions is a total misconception. The commission also revealed that in 2023, there were failed attempts to delete voters in Aland, leading to an FIR filed by ECI authorities themselves for investigation.

This back-and-forth highlights the growing tensions ahead of key elections, with opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi pushing hard on election integrity and ruling parties defending the Election Commission’s role in fair voter list management. As debates rage on voter deletions and ECI transparency, all eyes remain on how these claims play out in the political arena.

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