Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who recently claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the “votes theft” by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, will participate in a protest in Bengaluru on August 4 and submit a representation to the Election Commission officials here.Amid the raging row over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, on July 23, alleged that elections are being “stolen” in India and claimed that his party has figured out the modus operandi of the “votes theft” by studying a LS constituency in Karnataka.“Rahul Gandhi has raised voice against irregularities in elections. He had said that such things had taken place in Karnataka too, so he is coming here to give representation to the Election Commission officials. He is coming on August 4,” Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said.Memorandum to be submittedSpeaking to reporters here, he said the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee will be organising a programme (protest) in this regard, following which a memorandum will be submitted to election officials here.“Party state president (D.K. Shivakumar) and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) are finalising the plan. As per the tentative plan, he (Rahul Gandhi) is likely to address party workers at Freedom Park, following which he is likely to meet election officials and submit a memorandum,” he said.Noting that there are directions from the High Court in 2022 against holding any procession and protest in the city, the Home Minister said the programme will be organised keeping it in mind. “There will not be any procession,” he said. Gandhi had last week said that he would put before the people and the Election Commission in black in white on how the “theft of votes” is being done."In Karnataka, we have found out 'bhayankar chori (massive theft)'. I will show it in black and white to you and the Election Commission. I will show in black and white how the 'chori' is done and from where. We have it in black and white in Karnataka," the former Congress president had said."They know that we have understood their game. We picked one constituency and did a deep dive. Problem is that they give a voters list on paper and the paper list cannot be analysed. We took the full voters list of one constituency. We put it on digital format. It took six months but we have uncovered their whole system, how they do it, who votes and from where new voters are brought," he said.‘Illegal manipulation’Following Gandhi’s statement, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too had alleged that the Congress Party’s setback in the Lok Sabha polls in the State was due to “illegal manipulation” of the electoral process by the BJP through its misuse of the Election Commission, and the discussions were on with his party high command to decide the necessary course of action.He claimed that in several constituencies across the state, Congress workers reported sudden and suspicious additions of new voters, while names of long-time voters were removed without justification.Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, too agreeing with Gandhi's allegation had said he had made a detailed investigation regarding the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency, and a lot of "golmal" had been done.BJP terms protest ‘funny’Terming Gandhi’s planned protest alleging votes theft as “funny”, Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra said, if the Election Commission can be “manipulated” as being claimed, probably the grand old party would have sat in opposition in the State.“Rahul Gandhi going to protest against the Election Commission here in Bengaluru is the funniest part. I don’t know why he is so confused. If the BJP can manipulate and misuse the Election Commission, then how did Congress come to power in Karnataka with 136 MLAs? How did the Congress win by-elections for three MLA seats?” Vijayendra asked.Stating that Gandhi was misguided on this issue, he demanded that the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar should apologise to the voters of the state for raising doubts about the EC and the election process.Speaking to reporters here, he said, by raising doubts about the Election Commission, Gandhi and the Congress party are not only undermining the democratic institutions, they are creating doubt among the general public about the poll body, which is a “very dangerous trend.”Published - July 30, 2025 04:24 pm IST