New Delhi, September 18: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi on September 18, 2025, came out with sensational revelations as how the voters’ names were being deleted and added using a centralized software system, apparently like a call centre. He was addressing a second Press Conference at Indira Bhawan, the AICC headquarters in New Delhi. The constituencies in question are Aland in Karnataka and Rajpura in Maharashtra.

This press conference came 40 days after the Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi raised questions on the electoral outcome of Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat, claiming that at least one lakh votes were ‘stolen’ in Mahadevapura Assembly segment during the 2024 polls.

Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “I am also going to show you the method by which votes are being added and deleted and I am going to show you, how that is done. In election after election, “Someone”, some force, some group of people has been systematically targeting millions of voters for deletion across India. This is something that we have heard again, and again, and again. Different communities, mainly communities that are voting for the opposition- Dalits, Adivasis, Minorities, OBCs are specifically targeted. We had heard this many times and now we found 100 per cent proof of it.

Please, understand I am not going to say anything on this stage that is not backed up by 100 per cent proof. I am somebody, who loves my country. I love my Constitution. I love the democratic process and I am protecting that process and so I am not going to say anything here, that is not going to be based on 100 per cent proof that you can determine. The burden of… the judgement is yours. I am going to lay the proof in front of you. You will say it- yeah! actually this is pretty solid proof he said.

He also said that the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was protecting those people involved in this process by refusing to divulge the details of ‘Vote Chori’, specifically citing the investigations being done by the Karnataka CID which is not being provided by the ECI.

Shri Rahul Gandhi made a detailed presentation and also presented some persons whose identity was used for deleting the voters’ names without their knowledge. He disclosed that it was a “targeted deletion” of voters mainly in ten Congress booths in Aland constituency of Karnataka, out of which the Party had won on eight booths in 2018 assembly elections. Besides, he disclosed that the names of voters belonging to those communities which are traditionally opposed to the BJP like the Dalits, the Adivasis, the minorities and the OBCs, were deleted in this targeted deletion process.

The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Shri Rahul Gandhi said that it was not a coincidence but a deliberate and well-planned strategy to target the Congress supporters. He said, this was beyond any doubt now that the CEC Gyanesh Kumar was actually protecting those who were murdering the democracy by not providing the required information to the Karnataka CID, which is investigating the fraudulent deletion of voters’ names from the electoral rolls.

Shri Rahul Gandhi disclosed that the Karnataka CID had written 18 letters in 18 months to the CEC, seeking certain specific information like the destination IP from where these deletion forms were filled, the device destination ports from where these applications were filed, and most importantly, the OTP trails. But the ECI was refusing to provide it.

Shri Rahul Gandhi said that there was a particular pattern in the process as the first voter in the booth’s list was chosen as the person who would delete the voters, without his/her knowledge. He cited several instances where people were shown to have got votes deleted when they had actually not done anything, proving that it was done through software.

In one case, one woman voter Ms Godabai was shown to have deleted 12 votes. Similarly, another voter, Suryakant was shown to have deleted 12 names within 14 minutes. Another voter, Nagraj was shown to have deleted 2 votes within 36 seconds and that too in the wee hours of the morning at 4.07 a.m. One of these applicants for names’ deletion, Suryakant, was personally present during the press conference.

Shri Rahul Gandhi also explained how this is being done and why I am saying and we are saying that this is being done in a centralized manner and this is being done, not using individuals, but using software. Look at the serial numbers- serial number-1, Serial number-1, Serial number-1, Serial number-1.‘Serial number-1’ means that this is the first name in the booth. So, a software is picking up the first name in the booth and using it do delete voters. So, someone ran an automated programme that ensured the first voter of the booth was the applicant.

That same person got cellphones from outside the state, use them to file the applications and we are pretty certain that this was done in a centralized manner. This was not done at a worker level. This was done at a call-center level.

Targeted deletion in strong Congress booths. The top 10 booths with maximum deletions are Congress strongholds. Congress won 8 out of the 10 booths in 2018. This was not a coincidence; this was a planned operation. That is why, I am making such a direct accusation about this gentleman- CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

He also quoted the example of Rajura in Maharashtra where 6850 votes were added in a similar way. In Aland, the “vote theft”, Shri Gandhi revealed, was detected by sheer chance as one of the BLOs noticed that the name of her uncle had been deleted by one of his neighbours. When they enquired from the neighbour, he expressed ignorance as he had actually not got the name deleted. It was revealed that it was not the only vote that had been deleted mysteriously, but 6,018 votes in the entire Aland assembly segment had been deleted like that. The detailed investigations revealed that the process of name deletion was being done in a centralised way using some software.

Leader of Opposition Shri Rahul Gandhi said, the very fact that the CEC was refusing to share the information regarding generation of the OTPs and the IP addresses of the terminals shows that he was trying to protect those who had done it. He hinted that they had full idea as to where the system was being operated from.

He issued an ultimatum to the CEC to release the details like the OTP trials and IP addresses within one week otherwise it will be deemed that he was protecting the people who were involved in it. He said, this was not an isolated case, as the same things were done in Maharashtra, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also.

Referring to his earlier announcement that he will be making “Hydrogen Bomb” like revelations, he said, these will be made in a few days. On a question that today you have made a new revelation about how votes are being stolen, but it seems that the Election Commission is not taking any action in this and in future they are preparing to introduce SIR in the entire country, so how far will you take this campaign and what are you going to do about SIR?

Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “We are presenting criminality before you. Our job is to present the truth to you, and we are. There are other institutions in India, not just the Election Commission, but the legal system. They should also look into these matters. Here, we are speaking in black and white about the Chief Election Commissioner. You said we showed additions and deletions. In the first presentation, we showed additions, now we have shown deletions, but we added one more thing.”The system of additions and deletions, its structure, its method, and we’ve shown that the one who is deleting and the one who is adding, in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh, is the same person, the same force. We showed you those addresses. Same system that is being used in Maharashtra, is being used in Karnataka, is being used in Uttar Pradesh, is being used in Haryana- same people are doing it.

On another question: since you’re saying the Chief Election Commissioner knows who’s doing this, who do you think are those who are benefiting from this? First, and second, since you’ve given a week’s time, how will you proceed with this after a week? Will you approach the court or will you seek a resolution from a higher agency?

Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “Look, frankly, what I’m doing here isn’t my job. My job is to participate in the democratic system. My job isn’t to protect the democratic system; that’s the job of India’s institutions. They aren’t doing that, so I’m doing it. Now, I can tell you that we’ve shown you the evidence twice, and when we finish this presentation, it will take two to three months.”When we end this, there will be no doubt in your mind that state after state, Lok Sabha after Lok Sabha is being stolen in India. So, my job is to show the truth. I can show the truth to the people of India, to the youth of India. This is my job. They are interested in this, because this Constitution (he said, showing a copy of the Constitution) is the guardian, the protector of the people of India, and I am protecting it. It’s the responsibility of India’s institutions to protect this, not the opposition leaders, but the institutions aren’t doing it. Well, an interesting thing has come up, which I want to tell you: we’ve started getting help from within the Election Commission. I’ll be clear, from within the Election Commission. It wasn’t happening before, but now information is coming from within the Election Commission. This won’t stop, it can’t stop, because the people of India won’t accept this. Once the people of India, the youth of India, find out that votes are being stolen, they will use their power.

On another question, you said that you have strong evidence, evidence in black-and-white, so if the Election Commission does not respond now, will you approach the court? Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “Look, I said that my job as an opposition leader, in normal circumstances, is to lead the opposition, to put pressure on the government. My job isn’t to save Indian democracy, but I’m doing that. I’m doing that on stage. So, my thinking is that as a patriotic Indian, as somebody who loves India, who loves the Constitution, it is my duty to put the truth in front of the people of India. Now, if Indian institutions want to do something, they will do it; there are many people among them. As I told you, I am surprised; people from the Election Commission are coming forward, providing information, and it is increasing.

To another question: “As long as Gyanesh Kumar is in office, you’re saying he’s not allowing elections to take place. So, what’s the point of elections?” Shri Rahul Gandhi said, “The shocking thing is that this didn’t just start; it’s been going on for 10-15 years. This system, this structure, India’s democracy has been hijacked. “I am shocked, frankly… democracy… brothers and sisters, democracy can only be saved by the people of India. Nobody else can save democracy. Rahul Gandhi can come here and say something and say this is truth, but the people of India, who I believe in, who I love, can do it. The day people of India realize that your Democracy, your Constitution, has been stolen from you, that day.

Congress President Shri Mallikarjun Kharge posted on ‘X’ on Rahul Gandhi’s Press Conference on September 18, 2025

CID probing the Aland AC voter deletion case, wrote 18 letters to @ECISVEEP in 18 months, but ECI has stone-walled critical information necessary to track the culprits. Armed with concrete proof, Shri @RahulGandhi has thoroughly exposed the mass vote deletion in Aland Assembly in Karnataka. This leads to 3 important questions — • Who is the ECI shielding? • Is BJP hollowing out the very Institutions meant to protect our Democracy? • Can we afford a Democracy where the Electoral System is being dismantled by a #VoteChoriFactory? People of India, especially the young should strongly ask these questions.