Caution on SIR: Bihar’s voter list shrinks by lakhs, more deletions feared
Psephologist Yogendra Yadav and the CPIML-Liberation have warned that the special intensive revision (SIR), launched on June 25, had resulted in a shrinking electorate and could lead to further deletions On the eve of the publishing of Bihar’s freshly revised draft electoral roll, Opposition leaders and election experts raised concerns about the possibility of a large-scale deletion of voters. Psephologist Yogendra Yadav and the CPIML-Liberation have warned that the special intensive revision (SIR), launched on June 25, had resulted in a shrinking electorate and could lead to further deletions. Preparation for the SIR has begun across India, and the EC is expected to extend the drive after completing Bihar. The Trinamool Congress government in Bengal has vehemently opposed it on the suspicion that it would selectively disenfranchise the working-class voters ahead of the 2026 elections. Yadav, a petitioner in the Supreme Court against the SIR, told The Wire: “I have the figures from the districts of Darbhanga and Kaimur. It shows that 10 to 12 per cent have been marked for deletion, which is to say that where BLO said ‘not recommended’. This does not mean permanent deletion. They have the right to notice, hearing, etc. Ten per cent would mean 72 lakh people, over and above the 94 lakh that we have spoken about.” On July 27, the EC confirmed that the state’s electoral roll has shrunk from 7.89 crore to 7.24 crore — smaller than the electorate of the 2020 polls — in the first phase of the drive itself. The 65 lakh names deleted include the dead, those enrolled in multiple places in Bihar, and those who are permanently shifted or not found. In his response to the Election Commission’s counter-affidavit, Yadav used population projections of the Union health ministry in 2019 to claim that the actual number of voters in Bihar should be around 8.18 crore. India’s population census has not been conducted since 2011, hence the reliance on projections. He said even if one’s name is on the draft roll, “you can still be thrown out a) because the BLO said you are suspect, b) because the documents were not found or are not there, and c) because the electoral registration officer can make a local inquiry and say that you do not belong there. So we are looking at a substantial chunk over and above the 94 lakh we are talking about”. Yadav added: “We are looking at the birth rate of 2002-2007. A 28 per cent increase has taken place in the population. After population growth, the electorate has shrunk. How astonishing!” CPIML general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya cited a purported SIR status report from Darbhanga district. Of around 30 lakh voters in the district, 2 lakh have been deleted in the enumeration phase. “Of the remaining 2.8 million (28 lakh), some 2.5 million (25 lakh) names have been recommended by BLOs, and 3 lakh voters are not recommended by BLOs. Are these voters on the waiting list for eventual deletion? Will they be treated henceforth as D-voters with voting rights suspended? Will some end in detention centres as has been happening in Assam?” he asked. Courtesy : The Telegraph Note: This news is originally published on https:/thetelegraph.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
Congress functionaries back Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ accusation, opposition allies join in
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor threw his weight behind Rahul Gandhi’s “expose” on “vote chori” as the party decided to take it forward with a nationwide campaign. Congress general secretary KC Venugopal announced that the party’s state units will screen Rahul’s “landmark press conference” in state capitals on Saturday “to expose the BJP-EC nexus”. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge will discuss the idea of a national offensive on “election fraud” with Congress state managers and frontal heads on Monday. Party MP Manickam Tagore sought to raise the issue in Lok Sabha amid protests. On Rahul’s expose, Tharoor said, “These are serious questions which must be addressed in the interests of all parties and voters. Our democracy is too precious to allow its credibility be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness, or worse, deliberate tampering.” Tharoor, who has famously diverged from Congress’ view on geopolitical issues lately, was emphatic that EC should act urgently. As a follow up, Rahul released an 8-minute video summary of his findings and raised questions about the outcome of 2022 Uttarakhand, 2023 MP and Chhattisgarh, and 2024 Maharashtra polls, a sensational claim that triggered Congress and opposition to exhume old complaints to EC. Congress MP Vivek Tankha, tagging a video, said he had complained to EC about mass deletion of voters, fake and duplicate voters ahead of MP polls, and asked “why is the poll watchdog not acting impartially”. Former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, who raised questions about the poll outcome in the past, was especially active on social media. Allies joined in, with CPI (ML) chief Dipankar Bhattacharya announcing a “chunao chor, gaddi chod (vote thief, quit the throne)” campaign from Aug 9-11, and “Save Independence Day” campaign on Aug 15. Samajwadi Party supporters took to social media with gusto sharing videos of Akhilesh Yadav saying “EC is dead” and making other remarks. NCP’s Supriya Sule said after Rahul’s presentation at a dinner on Thursday that was attended by INDIA bloc stalwarts, Sharad Pawar suggested that the presentation be given at every state, district and block level. DMK’s Kanimozhi sought immediate action while TMC’s Sagarika Ghose said Rahul’s disclosures confirmed Mamata Banerjee’s misgivings about SIR. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said EC must rethink if its responsibility is only to BJP. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
Lost polls in 2019 for the first time due to bogus votes, claims Kharge
Bengaluru: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge Friday sought to give heft to Lok Sabha opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of vote theft by claiming that he too was a victim of electoral fraud during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections — his first-ever electoral defeat in his political career. At Congress party’s ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Kharge said the Union govt led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a govt that “indulges in theft”. “PM Narendra Modi is making this country cry with bogus votes,” he said. “I never lost an election until 2019. I lost because of bogus votes, which has now come to light.” He alleged that his defeat from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka was due to manipulation of the voter list. “In five of the eight assembly segments, my opponents secured at least 20,000 bogus votes,” he said. He accused the Election Commission of operating under directions from Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah. Expanding on his allegations to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Kharge said, “In Maharashtra and Karnataka, he (Modi) used the same trick. Modi and company did not legitimately win the 2024 elections.” He went on to say, “The last (Lok Sabha) election was one of betrayal. Modi’s strategy is that even if people do not vote, he and Shah order the Election Commission to decide where to vote less and where to vote more. Modi has already intimidated Congress and other parties and gained a majority.” Invoking the legacy of the freedom struggle, Kharge said, “Our tall leaders carried out the Quit India Movement on Aug 9. In the same way, we are going to do or die to protect the Constitution. I thank Rahul Gandhi. He is working to spread awareness among the people. He is ready for anything. Even though he has 40-50 cases against him, he is continuing his good work.” He said the pattern of vote manipulation was being discussed within the INDI alliance. “We met on Thursday at the residence of Rahul Gandhi, where we explained the situation in detail to our allies,” he said. “We sought to ensure unity and a united front across our alliance to oust the Modi-led central govt. We will take out a procession to the Central Election Commission (CEC in Delhi) and submit a memorandum on Monday.” He said the memorandum would declare ECI officials complicit and render them ineligible to continue in their positions. Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said the party would set up “legal banks” across all assembly constituencies. “These banks will serve to protect votes of people and act on lines of blood banks at hospitals,” he said. Chief minister Siddaramaiah demanded PM Modi’s resignation, calling BJP a “Manuvadhi party” that had lost moral authority. Ministers R Ramalinga Reddy, Dinesh Gundu Rao and BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan also accused BJP of winning seats despite losing assembly polls in the same regions last year. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
Deputy CM Shivakumar files formal complaint with Election Commission
Bengaluru: Hours after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi led a protest in Bengaluru over alleged voter fraud, deputy chief minister and Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar Friday formally submitted a memorandum to the chief electoral officer (CEO), seeking action against officials allegedly involved in electoral malpractice during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In response, the CEO has asked Shivakumar to submit supporting documents and a declaration as per the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, before action can be taken. In a letter to Shivakumar, the CEO said the Congress functionary had submitted his representation dated Aug 5, 2024, on Friday but did not attach any documentary evidence to support the allegations. Shivakumar said he had named Mahadevapura and Gandhinagar constituencies as examples of electoral fraud. “Vote theft not only happened in Mahadevapura, but across Karnataka,” he said. “We have requested the Election Commission (EC) to investigate the fraud and punish officials concerned, be it a block level officer or returning officer.” He said Congress would soon provide supporting documents. “There were multiple frauds like enrolling a name at more than five places, without house number, using vacant site detail, or shifting votes from one booth to another,” he said. “The EC should find such frauds and take action against the persons concerned.” Responding to the EC’s request for affidavits from Rahul Gandhi and Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge on their allegations of vote theft, Shivakumar said their public statements should suffice. “There is no need of an affidavit as they have already submitted an affidavit at the time of contesting elections,” he said. “If they find we are lying, let them hang me. The EC did not say we lied or denied our allegation.” Shivakumar said a team of 20 people took six months to expose the vote fraud in Mahadevapura assembly constituency, despite using AI tools to match photos, identify duplicates and ghost voters in electoral rolls provided by the Election Commission (EC). In his complaint, he urged the EC to scrutinise voter lists for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls across all constituencies in the state, make digital, machine-readable photo electoral rolls publicly available and to publish findings of the EC’s investigation, specifically highlighting any suspicious voters who have been added, deleted, or substituted. He also emphasised the need to re-examine the impact of such dubious voters on final electoral outcomes in these constituencies and to find, suspend and punish officials who signed fraudulent Form-6, Form-7, and Form-8. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
1 lakh fake voters in Karnataka seat that BJP swept in 2024: Rahul Gandhi
NEW DELHI: Following through on his claim of “atom bomb evidence of voter manipulation” in favour of governing BJP, Congress’ Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said over one lakh voters were downright fake in Mahadevapura assembly seat that BJP swept to narrowly win Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency in 2024. There are eight segments in the LS seat. He accused EC of colluding with BJP to “destroy Indian democracy and steal elections”, and argued that if EC now does not provide electronic voters’ data of 10-15 years and CCTV footage, then it is “partaking in crime” since the two are now “evidence of crime”. He urged the judiciary to intervene to save Indian democracy. Addressing a press conference in the form of data point presentation of Congress’ Mahadevapura study, with the national anthem played at the end, Rahul said, “This is a crime being committed against the Constitution, Indian flag… I want the nation to know that there is a huge criminal fraud being perpetrated on India by EC and the party in office.” Citing the study, Rahul claimed BJP won Bangalore Central by 32,707 votes while 1,00,250 fake votes were polled for it. He said fake votes were in five categories – duplicate voters (11,965), fake/invalid addresses (40,009), bulk voters in one address (10,452), invalid photos of voters (4,132) and “misuse of Form 6” for becoming first-time voter (33,692). Showing files, he cited examples to assert people have voted multiple times in different booths of the seat, while addresses shown on voters’ lists are like “Street 0”, “House no 0”. He said there were as many as 80 voters shown in one address, even 50 in one-bedroom house, while attempts to cross-check resulted in beating up of researchers or confirmation that they did not live there. Rahul said it is famously claimed that first-time voters vote for PM Modi, but Form 6 instances in Mahadevapura showed there were no first-time voters in the 18-23 age group, and instead the age group was in 90s and 50s, etc. “This is how Bangalore Central was stolen. The reason EC does not provide us data is because it is happening across country,” he said, adding, “The difference between (BJP) winning and (Congress) losing in Haryana polls was 22,779 votes, and in one Karnataka assembly seat they have stolen four times of that vote.” He said there is a pattern of BJP winning an LS seat by sweeping a solitary assembly segment, underlining, “Modi is PM by a slender majority of 25 seats.” To a question, Rahul said he is a politician and his word to the people should be taken as an oath, as he mocked EC for asking for it instead of reacting to his presentation by promising to check the information he had provided. Rahul said BJP has built narratives of specific issues influencing elections like Ladli Behna scheme, Pulwama, now Operation Sindoor, and anti-incumbency has eluded BJP. However, he said there were suspicions about BJP’s victories, like in Maharashtra polls after being swept out in LS elections in the state. He said doubts became concrete when EC refused to provide machine-readable voters’ lists, and then showed a surge in voting after 5.30pm while deciding to destroy CCTV footage. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
‘Democracy too precious’: Shashi Tharoor backs Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ claim; urges immediate action
NEW DELHI: Coming out in support of the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha on his alleged “vote theft” claims, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that the questions raised by Rahul Gandhi needed to be “seriously addressed.” “These are serious questions which must be seriously addressed in the interests of all parties & all voters,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said while sharing the fellow party leader Rahul Gandhi’s video explaining how “Bangalore central Lok Sabha seat was stolen”. Tharoor further said, “Our democracy is too precious to allow its credibility to be destroyed by incompetence, carelessness or worse, deliberate tampering. Election Commission must urgently act & should keep the nation informed.” — ShashiTharoor (@ShashiTharoor) Shashi Tharoor expressed support after Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference on Thursday, shared what he described as “concrete evidence” of large-scale electoral manipulation, alleging that the Election Commission collaborated with the BJP to ensure the ruling party’s win. Tharoor’s comments signaled a change in tone, following several months in which his statements, including praise for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and criticism of the Emergency period, imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had drawn criticism from within the Congress and were used by the BJP to target the grand old party. Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, also made explosive claims of a “huge criminal fraud” in polls through collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission. — INCIndia (@INCIndia) Alleging that a “vote chori model” was being used in many constituencies across the country, Gandhi said that the judiciary needs to get involved in this because “the democracy that we love so much, does not exist anymore”. He claimed that there was “vote chori” (stealing of votes) of 1,00,250 votes in the Mahadevapura segment, with 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 voters with fake and invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters or single address voters, 4,132 voters with invalid photos and 33,692 misusing Form 6 of new voters Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
‘He indirectly supported SIR’: Assam CM Himanta on Rahul’s ‘vote theft’ claim; cites ‘Bangladeshi names’ in voter rolls
NEW DELHI: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had indirectly supported the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls through his recent remarks. Himanta said the revision exercise is necessary in Assam to remove the names of what he called “Bangladeshis” from the voter list. Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Sarma referred to Gandhi’s comments on alleged irregularities in voter rolls in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly constituency. Gandhi had claimed that over one lakh votes in the area were fake, duplicate, or bulk voters, with invalid addresses and misuse of Form 6. Sarma said, “Rahul Gandhi has himself given a certificate that SIR should be conducted. There should be a unique name along with an Aadhaar number. He (Gandhi) took some North Indian names. In Assam, we have names of ‘Bangladeshis’ in our voter rolls.” — himantabiswa (@himantabiswa) He added, “The same names are in Barpeta, Guwahati, Kerala and Delhi. It is a disease. That is why SIR is being done in Bihar.” Sarma also claimed that names of deceased persons are still present in the Assam electoral rolls. “That is why it (SIR) is required in Assam. After a long time, Rahul Gandhi has indirectly supported the Election Commission. His claim establishes that SIR is needed. I welcome it,” the Assam chief minister said. Earlier, Rahul Gandhi had addressed a press conference in New Delhi, where he alleged a “huge criminal fraud” in elections. He accused the BJP and the Election Commission of working together in what he called a ‘vote chori model” being used in several constituencies. Gandhi said the judiciary should step in as “the democracy that we love so much, does not exist anymore.” He claimed that in Mahadevapura, there was “vote chori” of 1,00,250 votes. According to him, this included 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 voters with fake or invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters using a single address, 4,132 voters with invalid photos, and 33,692 cases of misuse of Form 6 for new voters. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
Rahul gets bail in 2018 defamation case
Jamshedpur/Ranchi: The special MP-MLA court in Chaibasa here on Wednesday granted bail to the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in a 2018 defamation case involving Union home minister, Amit Shah. The Congress leader appeared in the court of Supriya Rani Tigga in the morning. The parliamentarian had earlier moved before the Jharkhand high court seeking an exemption from personal appearance before the court of the magistrate in Chaibasa. The high court while hearing the petition had directed Gandhi to appear before the MP-MLA court in Chaibasa on August 6. Today, after about 15 minutes of hearing, the court granted bail to Rahul on the condition that he would cooperate in the proceedings of the trial. “Rahul Gandhi denied before the court that he made defamatory remarks against Amit Shah. The court has taken the substance of the allegations today and has set the trial proceedings on,” said Keshav Prasad, advocate for the BJP leader Pratap Katiyar who filed the case against Rahul. Rahul’s counsel, Bapi Diripy, said that the allegations are fabricated; however, they have total faith in the judiciary. The case relates to the remarks made by Gandhi at Congress’s plenary session in 2018 against Shah, who was the then BJP national president. A local BJP leader, Pratap Katiyar, filed the case against the Congress leader before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) court in Chaibasa on July 9, 2018. He alleged that the remarks made by the Congress leader were defamatory. However, in 2020, the case was transferred to the MP-MLA special court following a directive from the high court. Repeated summons were issued by the court to Gandhi, but he did not appear. The Congress leader approached the high court with a plea seeking a stay on the warrant. The HC disposed of the plea on March 20, 2024. The Congress leader also approached the Chaibasa court with a plea for exemption from personal appearance. It was dismissed by the court. The MP-MLA special court issued a non-bailable warrant against Gandhi on May 24. Challenging the warrant, Rahul’s counsel approached the high court to revoke the order on June 2. Hearing the petition, the high court asked Rahul to appear before the Chaibasa special court on June 26, but on the request of Rahul’s counsel, the date was extended to August 6. Rahul reached Ranchi on Tuesday from where he visited Nemra to attend the last rites of JMM founder Shibu Soren in Nemra in Ranchi. He returned Ranchi for the night and flew to Chaibasa in the morning. Gandhi was accompanied by other state Congress leaders in the court who had reached Chaibasa by road. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
Trump’s 50% tariff: ‘Crude bullying’, says Congress; declares ‘India shall overcome’
NEW DELHI: Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday reacted to the United States’ decision to impose a steep tariff on India, calling it an act of “crude bullying” and expressing confidence that India will get through it.President Donald Trump recently announced an additional 25% tariff on India for importing crude oil from Russia. This takes the total tariff to 50%. Responding to the move, Tewari wrote in a short post on X: “India shall overcome. Crude bullying, coercion and arm twisting won’t work.” — ManishTewari (@ManishTewari) During a recent Truth Social post, Trump had said, “I don’t care what India does with Russia. They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care. We have done very little business with India – their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world. Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together.” This new 25% tariff comes just a week after Trump had already imposed a 25% duty on Indian exports. The ministry of external affairs called the US move “unfortunate” and said that India would continue to act in its own national interest. “It is extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest,” the MEA said in a statement. According to the executive order signed by President Trump, the first 25% tariff will be implemented on August 7, 2025. The second 25% tariff will come into effect 21 days later. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.
EC vs Rahul Gandhi: Submit declaration on ‘vote chori’ claim, poll body writes to Congress MP; asks for proof
NEW DELHI: The Karnataka Election Commission on Thursday asked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to submit a formal declaration supporting his “vote chori”(vote theft) claim, along with the names of electors allegedly wrongfully included in the voter list, in order to initiate necessary proceedings. Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) is expecting the signed Declaration and Oath from Rahul Gandhi by today evening, sources told TOI. Asserting that the electoral rolls were prepared in a transparent manner, the Karnataka poll body said: “Election results can be questioned only by way of election petition before the Hon’ble high court”. “You are kindly requested to sign and return the enclosed Declaration/Oath under Rule 20(3)(b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, along with the name(s) of such elector(s) so that necessary proceedings can be initiated,” Karnataka chief electoral officer wrote in a letter to Rahul Gandhi. The attached declaration form with the letter says submitting false evidence is punishable under Section 227 of BNS, and also that making a false declaration in connection with the electoral roll is punishable under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act 1950. — ians_india (@ians_india) Reacting to the election commission, Rahul said: “I’m saying it publicly to everybody. Take it as an oath. This is their data, and we are displaying their data. This is not our data”. “Interestingly, they haven’t denied the information,” he further said. “I’m a politician. What I say to the people is my word. I’m saying it publicly to everybody. Take it as an oath. This is their data, and we are displaying their data. This is not our data. This is Election Commission data. Interestingly, they haven’t denied the information. They haven’t told the voter list that Rahul Gandhi is talking about are wrong. Why don’t you say they wrong? Because you know the truth. You know that we know that you have done this across the country,” the Congress leader told news agency ANI. The Karnataka CEO also said that the election of MPs in Karnataka cannot be challenged now as the election petition window is over. Rahul Gandhi on Thursday questioned the fairness of recent elections, alleging large-scale voter fraud and accusing the Election Commission of acting in favour of the BJP. “The Election Commission colluded with the BJP to steal the elections in Maharashtra,” he claimed at a press briefing. Referring to the recent polls in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh, Gandhi said the results in Maharashtra confirmed the INDIA bloc’s long-standing suspicion of electoral malpractice. Courtesy : TOI Note: This news is originally published on https:/timesofindia.com/bha and is used purely for non-profit/non-commercial purposes, especially human rights.