Vote theft allegations: Karnataka CEO sends notice to Rahul Gandhi for proof on ‘double voting’ claim

The Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) has issued a notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking documents to back his claim that a woman voted twice in last year’s state polls.

The CEO’s letter, sent on August 10, said Gandhi’s documents would help conduct a detailed inquiry. It pointed out that the woman in question, Smt Shakun Rani, had denied voting twice, contrary to Gandhi’s statement at a press conference last week.

A preliminary probe also found that the tick-marked document Gandhi presented was not issued by a polling officer, as claimed. “Therefore, you are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which you have concluded that Smt Shakun Rani or anyone else has voted twice,” the notice stated.

Gandhi had recently alleged a “huge criminal fraud” in elections, accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of “vote theft” in at least three states. He also claimed the 2024 Maharashtra assembly results confirmed his suspicion that polls were “stolen.”

Responding to the remarks, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde criticised the Opposition for “wild allegations” without evidence. “If they have proof, they should go to the court or the Election Commission… By making such baseless claims, they have insulted the citizens of Maharashtra,” Shinde said.

Following Gandhi’s comments, the chief electoral officers of Karnataka and Maharashtra asked him to submit names of electors he claimed were wrongly listed, along with a signed declaration. On Friday, the Election Commission accused him of recycling old allegations already settled by the Supreme Court and urged him to either file a written declaration or apologise.