Voter list war: Poll panel vs Opposition over 'vote chori' allegations
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NDTV
16 minutes ago
- NDTV
"Attempt To Mislead": Poll Body Fact-Checks Congress's 'Vote Theft' Video
The impasse between the Congress and the Election Commission over allegations of 'vote theft' deepened on Saturday with the poll body fact-checking a video posted by the party, alleging that it was AI-generated and an attempt to mislead the voters of Bihar. The electoral rolls in the state, it said, are being prepared with transparency. Echoing allegations made by Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, the video posted by the party handle on X on Saturday shows a woman saying votes had been "stolen" by showing voters who were alive as dead, an old man stating that 80 fake voters were registered at his one-room house, and another man claiming voting rights had been stolen. These portions of the video carry an 'AI generated' disclaimer. The video then goes on to call for the ouster of those who are involved in the "theft" of votes. In the text with the video, the party asks people to join Mr Gandhi's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' in Bihar from Sunday, which is being organised to protest 'vote theft' and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in the state. ❌This video is AI generated and not real ❌It is a clear attempt to mislead the people of Bihar #ECIFactCheck ✅Read in detail in the image attached 👇 — Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) August 16, 2025 Fact-checking the post hours later, the Election Commission said the video is AI-generated and a "clear attempt to mislead the voters of Bihar". The SIR in Bihar, it said, is being prepared with transparency and the involvement of all stakeholders. "Electoral Rolls for each Assembly Constituency of Bihar are being prepared as per law and with full transparency by the concerned SDM/ERO (sub-divisional magistrates/electoral registration officer), full participation of over 90,000 BLOs (booth level officers), and full participation of all electors of that Assembly Constituency," the EC said in the post. Emphasising that political parties have also been involved, it added that there is "full participation of more than 1.6 Lakh BLAs (booth level agents) appointed by all the 12 recognised political parties in Bihar, including Indian National Congress". Charges, Defence In a presentation earlier this month, Mr Gandhi had accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to carry out voter fraud and had shared details of an investigation carried out by the party in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment in Karnataka in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress and others have also said the names of people who are alive have been struck off the voter rolls during the Special Intensive Revision in Bihar. The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the EC to make the names of 65 lakh people taken off the rolls public and list the reasons for doing so, including the 22 lakh people that the poll body has said are dead. The other reasons for exclusion stated by the poll body earlier are people who have either permanently shifted from Bihar or were not found, people being enrolled as voters in multiple places. The Election Commission has maintained that the SIR process in Bihar is being conducted to ensure that the voter rolls are correct and has said that "every eligible voter" will be included. On Mr Gandhi's allegations, the EC has also said he should present proof and avoid using phrases like "vote chori", which it called an "assault on the integrity" of poll officials.
India Today
31 minutes ago
- India Today
Electoral rolls prepared transparently, parties involved at all stages: Poll body
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday criticised political parties and individuals for raising concerns over alleged errors in electoral rolls from previous elections, and said that the designated Claims and Objections period exists precisely for this purpose. The poll body outlined the process of preparing electoral rolls and said that it is a transparent, multi-stage exercise involving political parties at every a 10-point statement, the Election Commission clarified that had such issues been flagged during the stipulated time, they could have been examined and, if genuine, corrected by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) before the elections. The commission also highlighted that political parties were involved at every stage, adding that several political parties and their Booth Level Agents failed to review the draft rolls during the appropriate time and did not raise objections."Recently, some Political Parties and individuals are raising issues about errors in the Electoral Rolls, including those prepared in the past. The appropriate time to raise any issue with the Electoral Rolls would have been during the Claims and Objections period of that phase, which is precisely the objective behind sharing the Electoral Rolls with all Political Parties and the Candidates,' ECI said in a press release.'Had these issues been raised at the right time through the right channels, it would have enabled the concerned SDM EROs to correct the mistakes, if genuine, before those elections," it Election Commission said that the draft electoral rolls are published in both digital and physical formats and shared with all political parties. The commission added that draft rolls are also published on the ECI website for public explained that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who are Sub-Divisional Magistrate-level officials, are tasked with preparing and finalising the electoral rolls, with assistance from Booth Level Officers (BLOs). The responsibility for the accuracy of the rolls lies with the EROs and statement comes a night before the Election Commission is set to hold a press conference at the National Media Centre in the national capital, likely to address recent political developments. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has stepped up his attacks on the commission, accusing it of enabling large-scale voter manipulation during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to benefit the alleged that fake voters were added to rolls in key states like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka. He claimed over one lakh fraudulent votes were cast in Karnataka's Mahadevapura assembly segment, part of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat, which the BJP won by 32,707 Congress has since extended similar allegations to other constituencies, with Gandhi suggesting that voter fraud may have influenced outcomes in up to 70 seats where the party lost by fewer than 50,000 votes.- EndsTune InMust Watch
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Karnataka: Regional Commissioner disqualifies Hassan Mayor as councillor
The Regional Commissioner of Mysuru division has issued an order disqualifying Chandre Gowda, Hassan Mayor, as councillor over allegations of violating the Karnataka Local Authorities (Prohibition of Defection) Act. Ramesh D.S., the Regional Commissioner, issued the order on Thursday, August 14, disqualifying Mr. Gowda as the councillor. Mr. Gowda was elected to the Hassan City Municipal Council on a JD(S) ticket. He was elected as president of the council in August 2024. His party had instructed him to vacate the post after six months to give the opportunity to another member of the party. As he refused to obey the direction, the JD(S) members moved a no-confidence motion against Mr. Gowda. He retained the post with the support of Congress and BJP members on April 29 this year. He had thanked Preetham Gowda, former BJP MLA, and Shreyas M. Patil, Congress MP, on the occasion. JD(S) party's senior leader and former minister H.D. Revanna had stated that the party would fight for Mr. Gowda's disqualification as he did not obey the the party's whip during the no-confidence motion. Mr. Revanna also claimed that the Congress and the BJP had an alliance in Hassan, while the BJP had alliance with the JD(S) outside.
