Rahul Gandhi News / EVM tampering, SIR, vote theft... is Rahul's conflict with EC increasing?

Rahul Gandhi News: Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has launched sharp attacks on the Election Commission of India in recent times. The intensity of his allegations is increasing with time. The controversy, which initially started with claims of tampering of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), has now reached serious allegations like 'match fixing' and 'vote theft'. After the results of Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra assembly elections, opposition parties, especially the Congress, have accused the Election Commission of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This article analyzes the background, major events and political implications of this controversy.

Controversy started from Haryana and Madhya Pradesh

The opposition's attack on the Election Commission started after the Haryana and Madhya Pradesh assembly election results. During the campaign in these states, the political atmosphere was such that the Congress and its allies were expected to win. However, the results were unexpected and the BJP formed the government in both the states. The Congress rejected these results and alleged tampering of EVMs. Party leaders claimed that Congress lost in those EVMs whose batteries were 99% charged, while they won in machines with 60-70% charge.

The Election Commission rejected these allegations outright and stressed on the transparency of the process, saying that tampering with EVMs is not possible. The Commission had earlier also denied the allegations of hacking and this time also clarified by giving detailed information about the entire process.

Allegation of 'match fixing' in Maharashtra

After the victory of the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance in the Maharashtra Assembly elections and Devendra Fadnavis becoming the Chief Minister again, the Congress once again raised questions on EVMs. The party alleged that there was unprecedented 'fraud' in the elections and such techniques were used which benefited the ruling party. Rahul Gandhi wrote articles in some newspapers claiming that there was 'match fixing' in the Maharashtra elections. He described the contradiction between the lead of the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the Lok Sabha elections and its defeat in the assembly elections as evidence of this 'match fixing'.

Congress demanded that elections be conducted using ballot papers, but the Election Commission rejected these claims and stressed on transparency of technical and administrative processes.

SIR and vote theft controversy in Bihar

Amidst the Maharashtra controversy, the Election Commission in Bihar ordered a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list. Under this process, a draft of the voter list was published, in which the names of about 65 lakh voters were expected to be deleted. Opposition parties, especially the All India Alliance, strongly opposed it and called it a conspiracy to take away the voting rights of Dalits, backward and poor classes. Mamata Banerjee called it an attempt to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through the backdoor.

The opposition launched a nationwide movement against SIR. 300 MPs protested inside and outside Parliament and several leaders were arrested. Meanwhile, the matter also reached the Supreme Court.

Sensational allegation of 'vote theft' in Karnataka

Rahul Gandhi recently held a press conference in Delhi alleging 'well-planned electoral fraud' in Karnataka's Mahadevapura assembly constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that one lakh fake votes were cast through duplicate registrations, invalid addresses and misuse of voter forms. Gandhi gave examples of voters like Shakun Rani, who he claimed voted twice. In addition, he alleged that 80 people were registered at the same address and CCTV footage from polling stations was erased.

The Election Commission rejected these claims and sought a signed affidavit from Rahul Gandhi. When Gandhi refused to give the affidavit, election commissions of various states issued him notices and sought a response. The Congress claims that such irregularities caused his party to lose at least 48 seats.

Preparations for Voter Rights Yatra in Bihar

According to political analyst Om Prakash Ashk, the tussle between the opposition and the Election Commission is at its peak ahead of the Bihar assembly elections. Rahul Gandhi is going to start the 'Voter Rights Yatra' on 50 assembly seats in 23 districts of Bihar from August 17. Tejashwi Yadav, leftist parties and other leaders of India Alliance will participate in this yatra. During this, there will be fierce attacks on the Election Commission and BJP.

In West Bengal too, Trinamool Congress and Mamata Banerjee have started opposing SIR. Mamata has called it a step towards NRC.