Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of vote stealing is expected to be discussed at tomorrow’s poll body press conference

On August 17, 2025, at 3 p.m., the Election Commission of India (ECI) will host a press conference at the National Media Centre in New Delhi. Recent political events, such as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims of vote theft, are anticipated to be covered in the briefing. This will be the Election Commission’s first media interaction following the launch of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.

Almost four months before the planned state assembly elections, the poll board in Bihar started the Special Intensive Revision of the voter list earlier this month. Opposition parties have questioned the early start, which has become a topic of discussion in the current Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Over the past week, Rahul Gandhi has stepped up his accusations of the Election Commission, claiming that voter fraud during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections favored the BJP.

The poll board was explicitly accused by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha of adding phony voters to the electoral records in important states including Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra.

Gandhi claimed that more than 1 lakh of the 6.5 lakh votes cast in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment—which is part of the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency—were fraudulently cast, which sparked the dispute. In the 2024 election, the BJP won the Bangalore Central seat by a margin of 32,707 votes.

The Congress has made similar accusations against other seats in the wake of this disclosure. Gandhi said at a recent party gathering that up to 70 constituencies where the Congress lost by less than 50,000 vote margins might have been affected by voter fraud.

RAHUL GANDHI WILL START THE YATRA FOR VOTER RIGHTS

In protest against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) procedure and suspected voter tampering, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will begin a 16-day “Voter Rights Yatra” from Sasaram, Bihar, on August 17. On September 1, there will be a gathering in Patna to conclude the march.

The yatra, covering around 1,300 kilometres, is being held to highlight what the Congress calls “voter theft” in Bihar ahead of the Assembly polls. Senior RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other INDIA bloc leaders will join the protest.

Congress leader Pawan Khera said the BJP, in collusion with the Election Commission, has manipulated voter rolls. He claimed the SIR process was used to delete votes from marginalised communities, calling it a threat to democratic rights.