Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar on Thursday announced that the Congress party will stage a protest on August 5 at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, followed by a march to the Election Commission’s office, to submit a formal appeal over alleged electoral malpractices in Karnataka.
Shivakumar emphasized the need to “protect the rights of voters and the Constitution”, calling the protest part of a larger national campaign against what the party claims is systematic election fraud.
He stated that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, would launch the movement from Karnataka, viewing the state as a starting point for a nationwide campaign to expose voter list irregularities.
“Rahul Gandhi is starting this fight from the soil of Karnataka, as he believes it will strengthen the movement across the country,” Shivakumar said.
The Congress alleges widespread voter list manipulation, particularly in urban constituencies, with claims that bogus votes have been created and legitimate ones removed.
“We have researched several booths in urban areas and found that votes were shifted without valid documentation. This is a serious injustice to several assembly segments,” Shivakumar added.
The upcoming protest builds on Rahul Gandhi’s recent claims on July 24, where he accused the Election Commission of “cheating” during the voter list revision in a Karnataka constituency. He alleged that elderly voters were added en masse, while eligible young voters were removed—but he has yet to provide public evidence.
Opposition parties, including the Congress and Samajwadi Party, have also voiced strong objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise being conducted by the Election Commission in Bihar and other states, alleging that it aims to disenfranchise voters, particularly from marginalised communities.
The protest on August 5 will serve as both a local demonstration and a symbolic launchpad for a national-level challenge to what the Congress describes as deliberate and targeted manipulation of the electoral process.