Rahul Gandhi has intensified his attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing the poll body of collaborating with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to manipulate elections and steal votes. These allegations have sparked a significant controversy, with the ECI demanding either an affidavit with evidence to support the claims or a public apology from Gandhi within seven days.

Gandhi's accusations center around alleged irregularities in voter lists and the electoral process. He specifically pointed to a study conducted in the Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka, where the Congress party claims to have found over 100,000 "bogus voters". According to Gandhi, these fake votes fall into categories such as duplicate voters, voters with fake or invalid addresses, bulk voters registered at single addresses, and misuse of Form 6 for first-time voters. He argued that these irregularities helped the BJP win the Bangalore Central constituency.

During a press conference on August 7, 2025, Gandhi stated that if the ECI does not provide electronic voter data from the past 10-15 years and CCTV footage, it is "partaking in crime". He urged the judiciary to intervene to safeguard Indian democracy, asserting that the data now constitutes "evidence of crime". Gandhi has also raised concerns about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar, calling it a "conspiracy to steal" the upcoming elections in the state. He questioned why the law on CCTV footage of the election process was changed and alleged that a law made in 2023 protects election commissioners from action, suggesting this was done to facilitate the ECI's assistance to the BJP.

The ECI has vehemently refuted Gandhi's claims, with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar accusing the Congress leader of manipulating the poll body's data and making false allegations. Kumar clarified that voter lists and the act of voting are governed by separate laws, challenging Gandhi's claims of collusion with the BJP. The ECI has also stated that it had already scheduled a meeting with the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee to address their concerns regarding voter lists. The poll body has also fact-checked a video posted by the Congress, alleging that it was AI-generated and intended to "mislead the voters of Bihar".

In response to the ECI's demand for an apology or affidavit, Gandhi questioned why the ECI did not ask BJP leaders to do the same when they made similar claims. He launched a "Voter Adhikar Yatra" in Bihar to campaign against "vote theft". During a rally in Bihar, Gandhi claimed that citizens' constitutional rights were being taken away and accused the ECI and BJP of conducting electoral fraud. He also stated that many people complained to him that their names were deleted from the voter list.

The Congress party has supported Gandhi's stance, with leader Jairam Ramesh stating that Gandhi only presented facts from the ECI's own data and accusing the commission of incompetence and partisanship. Meanwhile, RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari criticized the ECI for acting like a "BJP Commission" and reading out a script written by the central government.