Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday appealed to India’s young generation to take the lead in safeguarding democracy, even as the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) dismissed his latest allegations of “vote chori” in Aland constituency by citing earlier action against fraudulent applications.
Taking to social media, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha asserted that India’s youth would play a decisive role in protecting the Constitution. Sharing a photo of himself, he posted on X: “The Youth of the Country The Students of the Country The Gen Z of the Country Will save the Constitution, protect democracy, and stop vote theft. I always stand with them. Jai Hind!”
देश के Yuva
देश के Students
देश की Gen Z
संविधान को बचाएंगे, लोकतंत्र की रक्षा करेंगे और वोट चोरी को रोकेंगे।मैं उनके साथ हमेशा खड़ा हूं।
जय हिंद! pic.twitter.com/cLK6Tv6RpS
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 18, 2025
The appeal to Gen-Z assumes significance in light of recent protests in Nepal where youth took to the streets against alleged misgovernance, corruption, and a social media ban, causing the KP Oli-led government to collapse. The BJP has accused the Congress leader of wanting to stoke Nepal and Bangladesh-like tensions in India.
At a press conference earlier in the day, Gandhi claimed that over 6,000 voters’ names were targeted for deletion from the rolls in Aland, Karnataka. He alleged that a “group of people” was systematically removing names of voters belonging to OBC, Dalit and marginalised communities through centralised software methods.
“In Aland, Karnataka, 6018 votes, somebody tried to delete these votes. We don’t know the total number of votes deleted in 2023 elections, but somebody got caught… What happened was that the Booth Level officer noticed that her uncle’s vote had been deleted,” Gandhi said.
The Congress leader went further, accusing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of “protecting vote chors (vote thieves)” and claimed that he had “10 per cent proof” of fraudulent practices being shielded.
Karnataka CEO On FIR, Rejected Applications
In response, the Karnataka CEO issued a detailed statement stressing that the allegations were unfounded. Officials said the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of Aland received 6,018 online Form 7 applications in December 2022 for deletion of voters’ names. Verification was carried out by EROs, Assistant EROs and Booth Level Officers.
“Only 24 applications were found to be genuine, and another 5,994 were found to be incorrect. Accordingly, 24 applications were accepted, and 5,994 incorrect applications were rejected and not deleted,” the statement clarified.
Aland Case 2023@ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/Z35F0PlWPW
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) September 18, 2025
The CEO further noted that an FIR had already been filed on February 21, 2023, at Aland Police Station in Kalaburagi district. On September 6, 2023, all available details were shared with the Superintendent of Police, including form reference numbers, applicant data, IP addresses and submission timestamps. Meetings with investigators and cyber experts were also held to review the probe’s progress.
ECI Rejects Allegations as “Baseless”, Rahul Gandhi Claims Whistleblowers
The Election Commission of India (ECI) also rejected Rahul Gandhi’s accusations as “baseless and incorrect.” The poll body underlined that no vote deletion could be carried out online by any individual member of the public.
Meanwhile, Gandhi insisted that he is now receiving information from insiders within the Election Commission to expose alleged voter fraud. “We have started getting help from inside the Election Commission… India’s people will not accept this. Once the youth come to know that vote chori is happening, then their power will come,” he alleged.
