‘Mobiles, softwares used’: How Karnataka’s Aland saw massive voter deletions – Rahul Gandhi explains with ‘proof’

Rahul Gandhi at the press conference (PTI)

NEW DELHI: Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi presented five evidence of mass deletions in Karnataka’s Aland assembly constituency held by Congress MLA BR Patil.He claimed before the 2023 Karnataka assembly election ‘someone’ tried to delete as many as “6,018 votes.” He added, “nobody knows how many total votes were deleted…someone got caught while trying to delete these votes by coincidence.”He said a booth-level officer discovered her uncle’s vote had been deleted. Upon investigating, she found a neighbour’s name was falsely linked to the deletion- yet neither party was aware of the action, suggesting an external force had hijacked the process. “As luck would have it, they got caught,” he said.Gandhi claimed these 6,018 applications were filed impersonating voters – applications that the supposed applicants never actually submitted. “The filing was done automatically using software…Mobile numbers from outside Karnataka, from different states, were used to delete votes in Aland, specifically targeting Congress voters,” he alleged. Emphasising the political nature of the deletions, he added: “This wasn’t random. These deletions specifically targeted booths where the Congress party was winning.”

The Congress MP presented five examples,

Evidence number 1: Curious case of Godabai

Rahul Gandhi cited a specific case involving a woman named Godabai, whose name was used in a failed attempt to delete 12 voters from the electoral rolls.“Someone created fake logins and attempted to delete voters. Thankfully, this attempt was stopped – but Godabai, of course, had no idea,” he said.He played a clip by the woman Godabai, where she can be heard saying that she has “no idea about anything related to deletion of voters.”

According to Gandhi, the operation involved the use of mobile phone numbers from outside Karnataka, raising serious questions about the origin and intent behind the deletions. “These numbers are from different states,” he said, alleging that the system was being misused in a coordinated manner to disrupt the electoral process, “this leads to key questions.”To this Gandhi posed some pin pointed question, listing them out:

Gandhi suggested that the deletion process was neither isolated nor accidental but a part of a broader, tech-enabled operation aimed at disenfranchising targeted voters.

Evidence number 2: 12 deletions in 14 minutes – and no one knew

In another instance, Rahul pointed to a man named Suryakant, who, according to records presented by him, allegedly submitted 12 voter deletion forms in just 14 minutes. One of the voters whose names were removed in this rapid deletion spree was Babita Chaudhary.Both Suryakant and Babita were present with Gandhi on stage, alongside Gandhi, while he was addressing the media.

“Babita’s vote was deleted by Suryakant, or so the system says. But here’s the catch – neither Suryakant nor Babita knew anything about it,” Gandhi revealed.Gandhi used the moment to underscore how voter data was being manipulated This, he argued, was further evidence that the deletions were not just bureaucratic errors or isolated incidents but part of a deliberate, technology-driven mechanism designed to interfere with the electoral process, without the knowledge or consent of the individuals involved – specifically targeting voters in Congress-favoured areas.

Evidence number 3: 2 forms in 36 seconds – filed at 4:07 am

Gandhi further presented the case of Nagaraj, who, according to records, submitted two voter deletion applications in just 36 seconds.“Please try filling these forms yourself and see how long it takes you. I ask the youth of India – try it. Try filling two forms in 36 seconds. You’ll see the answer to this question,” Gandhi said, pointing to the improbability of such rapid submissions without automated tools.

He further highlighted the unusual timing of the activity. “Notice also the time this gentleman filled the form. For some reason, he got up at 4:07 in the morning and suddenly filled two forms in 38 seconds.”After presenting the evidence of alleged vote chori, Congress leader went on to make two big assertions:

Claim 1: Centralised, software-driven operation – not individual action

Rahul Gandhi further asserted that the process was centrally coordinated and executed using software, not by individual volunteers or booth-level workers.“This is being done not by individuals but through the use of software,” Gandhi said, pointing to a pattern in the serial numbers of deleted voters. “Look at the serial numbers: serial number 1 means this is the first name in the booth. So a software is picking up the first name in the booth and using it to delete voters.”

He claimed that an automated program was run where the first voter listed in each booth was falsely shown as the applicant requesting deletions. These applications were then submitted using mobile numbers from outside Karnataka, indicating cross-state coordination.“We are pretty certain this was done in a centralized manner, and it was done at scale. This was not done at a worker level. This was done at a call centre level,” Gandhi alleged, suggesting a structured, high-volume effort to influence electoral rolls in specific regions.

Claim 2: Targeted Deletions in Congress-Stronghold Booths

He also alleged that the voter deletions were not random, but strategically targeted at booths where the Congress party had strong support.“The top 10 booths with maximum deletions were Congress strongholds,” he said, adding that Congress had won 8 out of those 10 booths in the 2018 elections.

Calling it a planned operation, not a statistical anomaly, Gandhi claimed that the pattern of deletions clearly showed political intent. “This was not a coincidence; this was a planned operation,” he said. Go to Source