Rahul Gandhi said in a strong post on X, “Your vote was stolen, your rights were stolen, and your identity was stolen.” He used the hashtag #VoteChori to make the problem seem like a direct attack on the basis of Indian democracy.
There are claims of election fraud in Karnataka.
Rahul Gandhi released what he called an “atom bomb” of proof on August 7, 2025, that claimed large-scale voter list manipulation had happened in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura segment. He said that this included 33,692 cases of Form-6 misuse, 11,956 cases of multiple entries, and 40,099 cases of invalid addresses.
The leader of the Congress party said that the Election Commission was working with the ruling BJP to change the results in their direction.
The Election Commission Fights Back
The Election Commission of India (ECI) said that Gandhi’s claims were “baseless” and that the idea of “one person, one vote” has been in place since 1951. The Commission told him he had to show written proof to back up what he was saying.
Protests, jail time, and a political firestorm
On August 11, Rahul Gandhi and about 300 other opposition leaders were arrested while on a protest march to the ECI offices. This made things worse. The opposition said that the Commission helped people cheat the voting process and was against democracy.
The BJP’s Response
The BJP, which is led by Anurag Thakur, said that Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, the leader of the Samajwadi Party, had gotten “vote chori” in the past. Thakur asked them to quit and said Gandhi’s position was just political theatre meant to boost his public image.
Protests Across the Country
A statewide protest by the Congress party is called “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod,” which means “vote theft, leave power.” Workers from the opposition party held a symbolic protest in Jaipur and promised to keep up their campaign until election reforms are made.
The fight will go on, Rahul Gandhi says.
Gandhi is not bothered by the political backlash. He says he will use all of his options, including public protests, legal petitions, and legislative action, to find the truth about the supposed problems and rebuild trust in India’s democratic process.
