Rahul Gandhi, a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, has recently made serious allegations regarding the deletion of Congress votes, claiming a centralized force is behind it. Gandhi asserts that these irregularities occurred during elections in Karnataka, where thousands of votes were systematically removed. He stated that these deletions disproportionately affected Dalits, minorities, and Congress supporters.

Gandhi has directly targeted the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), accusing them of protecting individuals who, according to Gandhi, have undermined Indian democracy. He claims to possess solid proof of "vote chori" (vote theft) and suggests the CEC is shielding those responsible.

The allegations center around the constituency of Aland in Karnataka, where an attempt was made to delete 6,018 votes. While the actual number of deleted votes is suspected to be much higher, this particular instance was discovered when a booth-level officer noticed her uncle's vote had been removed. Upon investigation, it was found that a neighbor had deleted the vote, raising suspicions that neither the person deleting the vote nor the voter was aware of the action, indicating a larger orchestrated effort. Gandhi claims that the deletion of votes was done in a centralised manner using software and not through individuals.

According to Gandhi, the Karnataka CID (Criminal Investigation Department) has been investigating the matter and has sent 18 letters to the Election Commission over 18 months, seeking crucial data such as destination IPs and OTP (One-Time Password) details. Gandhi insists that this information is vital to uncovering those responsible for the vote deletions, but the Election Commission has allegedly not provided the requested details. He further claimed that mobile numbers from different states were used to delete names from voter lists, and two applications were filed in just 38 seconds at 4 a.m..

In August 2025, Gandhi also alleged that 6.5 million people, primarily from poor and socially weaker sections, were removed from Bihar's electoral rolls. Speaking at a rally in Sitamarhi, he accused the BJP and the Election Commission of engaging in "vote chori," claiming similar incidents occurred in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Karnataka. Gandhi vowed to expose these instances of vote theft with further evidence in the coming months.