Recent political discourse has centered on allegations of voter deletion and manipulation, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi leveling accusations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Gandhi claims a coordinated effort to delete votes, particularly targeting Congress supporters, and has accused the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, of protecting "vote chors" and those "destroying" Indian democracy.

Gandhi highlighted the Aland constituency in Karnataka as a specific example, stating that there was an attempt to delete 6,018 votes using centralized software and phone numbers from outside the state. He argued that these deletions disproportionately affected communities seen as Congress supporters. Gandhi also cited an ongoing investigation by the Karnataka Police's Crime Investigation Department (CID) into voter deletions, expressing concern that the ECI was blocking access to the CID. He demanded that the ECI provide the information sought by the probe agency within a week.

The ECI has refuted Gandhi's claims, calling them baseless. The ECI stated that no vote deletion can be done online by a member of the public and that no deletion can occur without giving the affected person a chance to be heard. The ECI also mentioned that in 2023, certain unsuccessful attempts were made for deletions in the Aland Assembly constituency, and an FIR was filed by the ECI itself to investigate the matter.

The BJP has not yet issued any statements to support or refute the allegations.

These accusations are not new. In August, Gandhi accused the poll body and the BJP of having perpetrated “a huge criminal fraud” in elections. He presented findings from a Congress investigation in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, alleging over one lakh bogus entries in the electoral rolls. He claimed that the BJP's victory in Bangalore Central was aided by these bogus votes.

The current allegations and counter-allegations raise concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. Gandhi's claims suggest a systemic manipulation of voter rolls, while the ECI maintains the security and fairness of the process. The truth of the matter likely lies somewhere in between, requiring further investigation and transparency from all parties involved.