Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge has accused the previous BJP government of orchestrating a massive voter deletion scheme ahead of the May 2023 Assembly elections, using Form 7 to "en masse" remove Congress supporters from electoral rolls. The explosive allegations, echoing claims by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, point to a deliberate attempt to manipulate the democratic process in the Aland Assembly constituency.

Speaking in New Delhi on Thursday, Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of shielding "vote chors" and cited Aland as a case study, alleging systematic deletion of Congress voters. Kharge elaborated, describing the Aland incident as a "shocking case of large-scale voter deletion." He claimed that 6,018 deletions were attempted using automated software and fake logins, with 5,994 found to be forged and only 24 genuine. Of these, 2,494 voters were successfully removed before the fraud was detected, primarily targeting strong Congress booths, especially those with Dalit and minority voters.

Kharge revealed chilling details: in one instance, 12 voters were deleted in just 14 minutes, indicating a "sophisticated vote chori factory." Another case involved a 63-year-old woman’s identity being misused to delete 12 voters. He accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of stonewalling the Karnataka CID’s investigation, noting that despite 18 requests for critical data like IP logs, OTP trails, device IDs, and login details, the ECI has refused to cooperate.

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The minister raised pointed questions: "Who approved these deletion records? Where is the OTP audit trail? Why is the ECI refusing to assist the CID? Who are they protecting?" He demanded immediate restoration of the deleted voters and accountability for what he called clear electoral fraud. "When the evidence is this blatant, what more does the ECI need?" Kharge asked, accusing the commission of shielding culprits.

The allegations intensify scrutiny on the ECI’s role and raise alarms about the integrity of India’s electoral system. As the Karnataka CID continues its probe, the Congress is calling for urgent reforms to prevent such manipulations, warning that democracy itself is at stake in the face of such orchestrated voter suppression.

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