Priyank Kharge urged the Election Commission to answer questions instead of trying to intimidate the Congress.
Published Aug 14, 2025 | 3:01 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 14, 2025 | 3:01 PM
Minister Priyank Kharge. (Supplied)
Synopsis: Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said wedding cards, transfer certificates, and examination hall tickets were used as proof to add voters under atrocious addresses in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency.
Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge presented more examples of the alleged vote theft in the Mahadevapura segment of Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency.
Addressing a news conference in Bengaluru on Wednesday, 13 August, he claimed that voters were allegedly registered with wedding invitation cards, Transfer Certificates, and Comed-K hall tickets, even though they could not be considered valid address proofs.
Kharge cited the example of a voter whose house number was ’00’ in booth number 432. However, her proof of address was on a wedding invitation card!
He then referred to another voter’s details, in which the house address was a mere ‘house’ and the address proof given was a transfer certificate. “Instead of intimidating the opposition, the Election Commission should provide answers to people. We are also discussing legal action, which will be needed at the highest levels,” Kharge said.
Referring to the candidature of Congress’s Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha candidate Mansoor Ali Khan, Kharge said that he had a lead of nearly 75,000-80,000 till the Mahadevapura segment was counted. In that one seat, the BJP candidate got a lead of 1.14 lakh votes, eventually defeating the Congress candidate, which the minister said was suspicious.
Kharge further claimed that Mahadevapura saw a rise in the number of voters, around 52,000 voters between 2023 and 2024. “As per the EC norms, if the number of electors sees an increase of over 4% compared with the previous rolls, field verification must be done.”
The Congress has alleged widespread electoral roll manipulation and bogus voting in favour of the BJP in Karnataka, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh.
Denying the allegation, the Election Commission of India demanded an affidavit from the Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, who told a media conference in New Delhi on 7 August that the poll panel had colluded with the BJP to rig elections to ensure a result swinging in favour of the ruling party.
Following up, Gandhi said in Bengaluru on 8 August that Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister by stealing votes.
Addressing the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park, Gandhi said there was 100 percent proof of electoral roll manipulation in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment that comes under the Bengaluru Lok Sabha constituency. The party, he said, conducted a six-month investigation to unearth the voter fraud.
The voting data of the Mahadevapura Assembly segment in the Bengaluru Central constituency found irregularity in 1,00,250 votes, he said.
The Congress leader also asked five pointed questions to the poll panel.
On 11 August, the Delhi Police detained Gandhi and other INDIA bloc MPs, who were to take out a march from Parliament to Nirvachan Sadan, the seat of the ECI.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, on Wednesday, urged the people to raise their voice and save constitutional institutions from the “clutches of the BJP”.
