Rahul Gandhi Hits Back at EC Over Affidavit Demand on ‘Vote Theft’ Allegations

Bengaluru, August 8, 2025 — Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday responded sharply to the Election Commission’s (EC) demand for an affidavit on his recent claims of large-scale electoral fraud, saying he had “already taken the oath of the Constitution in Parliament.”

“The Election Commission demands an affidavit from me. It says I must take an oath. I have already taken the oath of the Constitution in Parliament,” Gandhi told reporters in Bengaluru.

His remarks followed his Thursday accusation that the BJP and the EC were involved in a “huge criminal fraud” through voter-list manipulation, which he described as “vote theft.”

The EC, rejecting his allegations as “baseless,” has asked Gandhi to submit evidence along with a signed declaration detailing specific instances. Gandhi, however, stood by his claims, alleging that in one Karnataka constituency alone, 1,00,250 votes were stolen. He cited figures of 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 with fake or invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters at a single address, 4,132 invalid photos, and 33,692 voters registered through alleged misuse of Form 6.

Calling it a “vote chori model” being implemented nationwide, Gandhi urged the judiciary to step in, claiming that “the democracy we love so much does not exist anymore.” He further alleged that the EC was actively destroying “criminal evidence” collected by the Congress.