The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday firmly rebutted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of large-scale deletion of votes in Karnataka’s Aland constituency, calling them “incorrect and baseless.”

The poll panel dismissed Gandhi’s claim that over 6,000 votes had been deleted in the Aland Assembly segment. It clarified that “no deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as conceived by Rahul Gandhi,” and added that no deletion can take place “without giving an opportunity of being heard, to the affected person.”

The ECI also cited records, noting that “Aland AC was won by BJP's Subhash Guttedar in 2018 and Congress's B R Patil in 2023.” It further recalled that in 2013, “unsuccessful attempts were made, but an FIR was filed to investigate the matter.”

Responding to the Commission’s remarks, Rahul Gandhi escalated his allegations at a press conference in Delhi, claiming he has begun receiving support from within the ECI, “We have started getting help from inside the Election Commission. This was not happening before, but now we are getting information from within the Commission - and this is not going to stop. The people of India will not tolerate it. Once the youth realise that votes are being stolen, their strength will emerge,” he said.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting “vote chors” and “people who have destroyed democracy.” Displaying data of Aland on a large screen, Gandhi alleged that the votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.

“I am going to show the youth, the people, proof that is black and white, absolutely clear that the Chief Election Commissioner of India is protecting people who have destroyed Indian democracy. I will also show you the methods by which votes are added, deleted and show you how it is done,” he said.

Detailing the alleged case in Aland, Gandhi stated, “In Aland, Karnataka, 6018 votes, somebody tried to delete these votes. We don't know the total number of votes deleted in the 2023 elections, but somebody got caught. It was caught, by most crimes, by coincidence. What happened was that the Booth Level officer noticed that her uncle's vote had been deleted. When she checked, she saw that her neighbour had deleted the vote. When she asked the neighbour, he said that he was not aware of doing such a thing. So, neither the neighbour nor the person whose vote was deleted knew. Some other force hijacked the process and deleted the vote. As luck would have it, it got caught.”

According to Gandhi, a centralised system using software is being deployed to impersonate genuine voters and erase their names from electoral rolls. “In election after election, someone, some group of people, have been systematically targeting voters for deletions across India. Different communities, mainly those who are voting for the opposition, Dalits, OBCs, adivasis, and minorities, are specifically targeted who vote for the Opposition. We had heard this many times, and now we found 100 per cent proof of it. I am not going to say anything on this stage that is not backed up by 100 per cent proof. I am somebody who loves my country, the Constitution, and the democratic process, and I am protecting that process,” he said.

He also referred to alleged irregularities in Mahadevpura, another Karnataka constituency, where he had previously flagged the presence of “fraud votes”. Gandhi said, “Across elections, groups of people have been systematically targeting voters for deletion across India - particularly Dalits, OBCs, Adivasis, minorities, and others who support the Opposition. We had heard about this many times, but now we have 100% proof. I will not make any statement on this stage without complete evidence.”

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have repeatedly accused the ECI of colluding with the BJP to manipulate voter rolls. Gandhi has cited examples in Maharashtra and in several constituencies in Karnataka as instances of malpractice.

In response, the ECI has asked Gandhi to submit an affidavit supported by evidence. The poll panel also held a press conference to address questions on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision in Bihar and other claims made by the Opposition.