New Delhi | September 18,2025 | SKY LINK TIMES
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday firmly dismissed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of large-scale voter deletions in Karnataka’s Aland Assembly constituency, calling the charges “baseless and incorrect.”
Rahul Gandhi, addressing a special press conference earlier in the day, claimed that 6,018 votes had been deleted in Aland, particularly in Congress strongholds, through “fake logins” and phone numbers allegedly registered from outside Karnataka. He accused the ECI of allowing a “systematised and organised” voter deletion process that undermines democracy.
However, the poll panel issued a swift rebuttal, questioning both the Congress party’s and Gandhi’s “understanding of the electoral process.”
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ECI Clarifies: “No Public Can Delete Votes Online”
According to the Election Commission, no member of the public can delete a voter’s name through any online tool, as alleged by Gandhi.
> “No deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person,” the ECI stressed.
The Commission further clarified that in 2023, certain unsuccessful attempts to delete voters in Aland were detected, after which the ECI itself filed an FIR to investigate the matter.
This, it said, shows that the Commission has a robust mechanism to prevent fraudulent deletions.
Political Context: Aland’s Electoral History
The Aland constituency in Karnataka, which Rahul Gandhi described as a Congress bastion, has seen competitive contests between the Congress and BJP.
In 2018, BJP’s Subhash Guttedar won the seat.
In 2023, Congress leader B.R. Patil reclaimed it for the party.
With Rahul Gandhi’s latest remarks, political observers believe the controversy could intensify the war of words between Congress and BJP in the run-up to the upcoming Bihar elections.
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BJP vs Congress: Clash Likely Ahead of Bihar Polls
The BJP is expected to strongly counter Rahul Gandhi’s fresh allegations, portraying them as another attempt by the Congress to “mislead voters” and create distrust in the electoral system.
Meanwhile, the Congress may use Gandhi’s claims to fuel its narrative of alleged manipulation in constituencies where the party has strong support.
This is not the first time Gandhi has raised such concerns. Just last month, he alleged that over one lakh votes were mysteriously added in Karnataka’s Mahadevpura constituency.
With the ECI publicly dismissing his accusations, the debate over India’s electoral credibility is likely to dominate political discourse in the coming weeks.
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