August 8, 2025

The political drama heats up in Karnataka! On Thursday, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to back his shocking claims of voter rigging in the Bangalore Lok Sabha election last year. Gandhi, also the leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, had accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of manipulating voter lists under BJP's influence. The CEO fired back with a formal letter, reminding Rahul Gandhi that the secret draft voter list was shared with the Congress in November 2024, and the final list came out in January 2025. Not a single objection was raised then! The CEO also highlighted, "As far as the conduct of elections were concerned, one could question the results only by an election petition before the high court." In his letter, the CEO included a written declaration for Gandhi to sign. This declaration demands detailed proof: Gandhi must list the names of eligible voters removed and ineligible voters added, along with exact part and serial numbers from the electoral rolls. The declaration warns, "making a false declaration or giving false evidence is punishable offences under both Representation of People's Act, 1950 and Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita, 2023." Earlier the same day, at a packed press conference in Delhi, Rahul Gandhi fired his biggest salvo yet. He claimed that in the Bangalore Central constituency, around 65,000 votes were cast in just 10 minutes during the Lok Sabha polls last year! He alleged that in the Mahadevapura assembly segment alone, a staggering 1,00,250 votes were fake, duplicate, fraudulent, or even had invalid photos. This vibrant showdown between the Election authorities and the Opposition is grabbing headlines across Karnataka and beyond. Will Rahul Gandhi now produce the smoking gun to back his explosive claims, or will the CEO's call for accountability silence these charges? The battle over Bengaluru's voters is far from over!

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Tags: Rahul gandhi, Karnataka ceo, Electoral rolls, Voter manipulation, Election commission, Bangalore lok sabha,