Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday endorsed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s recent claims of irregularities in the voter list in Karnataka, alleging that bogus votes were created in several urban booths across the state.
Speaking to ANI, Shivakumar revealed that a detailed review by the Congress found unauthorised shifting of votes in multiple constituencies, particularly in urban areas, without supporting documentation.
“We conducted research in many booths of Karnataka, especially in the urban sectors, where we found that votes were shifted there from various places without any proper documents. All bogus votes were created,” Shivakumar said.
He added that the party intends to submit the evidence to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and also present it to the public, asserting that these manipulations had unfairly impacted several assembly segments.
“Whether they [ECI] agree or not is a different issue, but we will expose it. I fully support Rahul Gandhi’s statement,” he added.
The remarks come just days after Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission of enabling “cheating” during the voter list revision process in a Karnataka constituency. While Gandhi claimed to have “100 per cent proof” of manipulation—such as adding elderly voters aged 50 to 65 en masse and removing eligible young voters—he has yet to publicly release that evidence.
“I am absolutely convinced this is happening constituency after constituency. It’s a drama,” Gandhi said on July 24.
The allegations have intensified political tensions ahead of the upcoming elections, especially as the Congress and other Opposition parties like the Samajwadi Party have also been protesting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. They argue the exercise is being used to deliberately disenfranchise marginalised communities, potentially altering the electoral outcome.
The Election Commission has not yet officially responded to the latest statements from Shivakumar or Rahul Gandhi.
