The Election Commission of India (ECI) has refuted allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding the possibility of online deletion of votes by the public, specifically addressing accusations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The ECI has stated that Gandhi's claims are "incorrect and baseless".

Rahul Gandhi has been a vocal critic, alleging that the ECI, under the leadership of Gyanesh Kumar, is colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to manipulate the electoral process. Gandhi has accused the ECI of "vote theft," claiming that voter names, particularly those of Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), are being deliberately deleted to benefit the BJP. He has also stated that Gyanesh Kumar is "protecting" individuals who are undermining democracy in India.

Gandhi presented what he called "black and white" evidence, asserting that the CEC is shielding "vote thieves". He cited an instance in the Aland constituency in Karnataka where an attempt was made to delete 6,018 votes. Gandhi explained that this came to light when a booth-level officer discovered the deletion of her uncle's vote and traced it to a neighbor. He also referred to irregularities in the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and a constituency in Karnataka during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi claimed that in the Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka, over one lakh votes were allegedly manipulated during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In response to these allegations, Gyanesh Kumar has strongly denied any wrongdoing and has dismissed Gandhi's accusations as an "insult" to the Constitution. Kumar challenged Gandhi to either provide a signed affidavit with evidence to support his claims or apologize for making baseless accusations. The CEC emphasized the transparency of the electoral process, highlighting the involvement of over one crore officials, ten lakh booth-level agents, and twenty lakh polling agents in a Lok Sabha election. He questioned how vote theft could occur in such a transparent system with so many people involved.

The controversy has also drawn in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Association, which has condemned the personal attacks and online trolling directed at Gyanesh Kumar's family, particularly his daughters, following the "vote theft" allegations. The IAS Association emphasized that such attacks are unwarranted and unconnected to the discharge of official duties, reaffirming its commitment to dignity and integrity in public service.

Gyanesh Kumar, a former IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, was appointed as an election commissioner in March 2024 and assumed the charge of CEC in February 2025. He is the first CEC to be appointed under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.

The opposition INDIA bloc had considered a motion of impeachment against Gyanesh Kumar during the Monsoon Session of Parliament. However, given the required two-thirds majority in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and the expected support for Kumar from the NDA government, such a motion would likely be unsuccessful.