1. JPSC-JSSC Protest: Students seek talks with CM Hemant Soren before August 20 gherao 2. SC quashes Ranchi FIR, says commercial dispute cannot be turned into criminal case and more storiesSC quashes Ranchi FIR, says commercial dispute cannot be turned into criminal caseSupreme Court gives big relief to Himadri Steel, sets aside ₹3.23-crore power theft demandJPSC-JSSC Protest: Students seek talks with CM Hemant Soren before August 20 gheraoVande Mataram row: Amit Shah, Bankim descendant demand Congress apologyJharkhand BJP to back students’ peaceful protest, seeks CBI probe into job scamSherghati-Kajree rail link gets Railway ministry nod; ₹2,627 cr project to connect Bihar and PalamuLatehar road accident: Six killed, including child, in Chandwa collision

Rahul Gandhi hits out at CEC, alleges vote deletions in Maharashtra, Karnataka

THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK   New Delhi, Sept 18: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference at Indira Bhavan in New…

Rahul Gandhi hits out at CEC, alleges vote deletions in Maharashtra, Karnataka

Image: ANI

THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK

 

New Delhi, Sept 18: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference at Indira Bhavan in New Delhi, leveling serious allegations about alleged irregularities in the electoral system.

He claimed that votes were deleted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in several states, including Haryana and Maharashtra, and released some evidence to support his claims.

Stay informed. Get Jharkhand's top stories in your inbox.

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

At the start of the press conference, Rahul Gandhi said, “This is not a hydrogen bomb yet; the hydrogen bomb is yet to come.” He described the revelation as another step to alert the country’s youth and said it proved how the electoral process in India is being influenced.

Also Read- IMD issues thundershowers alert for Jharkhand

Allegations of vote deletion in Aland, Karnataka

In the press conference, Rahul Gandhi accused the authorities of attempting to delete votes in the Aland assembly constituency in Karnataka. He said that at least 6,018 votes were targeted for deletion.

Advertisement
Advertisement

He added that they do not know the total number of votes deleted in the 2023 assembly elections, but that the figure could be much higher than 6,018.

He shared the story of a Booth Level Officer (BLO) who happened to detect the irregularity. The BLO noticed that his uncle’s name had been removed from the voter list. Upon investigation, he found that the deletion had been recorded under his neighbor’s name.

When the BLO asked the neighbor, the neighbor said he had not removed any vote. In other words, neither the person whose vote was deleted nor the person under whose name it was deleted knew anything about it. This suggests that some other force is hijacking the process.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Congress voters’ names removed as part of a conspiracy

Rahul said that in Aland, 6,018 applications were filed to remove voters’ names. The people who supposedly filed these applications claim they never submitted them.

He alleged that software was used to file these applications automatically. Mobile numbers from states outside Karnataka were used to remove voters in Aland, and this was done targeting Congress voters.

Also Read- Bihar to provide ₹1,000 monthly aid to jobless graduates

Targeting the Chief Election Commissioner

Rahul Gandhi also launched a strong attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. He alleged that the CEC is protecting those who have tried to destroy Indian democracy, and he explained the reasons for his accusations.

He said that Karnataka’s CID has sent 18 letters to the Election Commission over 18 months asking for some very simple facts, but the Election Commission has not responded to the CID. The CID requested the destination IPs from which these forms were submitted. They also asked for the destination devices or destination ports from where the applications were filed.

The CID’s third and most important request was for OTP trails, because when you submit an application you receive an OTP. The Election Commission must provide this so we can find out where the operation was run from.

Rahul said in his press conference that this is only the beginning and that there will be further revelations. He said preparations for the “hydrogen bomb” are underway and that it will be detonated soon.

More from Breaking
1. JPSC-JSSC Protest: Students seek talks with CM Hemant Soren before August 20 gherao 2. SC quashes Ranchi FIR, says commercial dispute cannot be turned into criminal case and more stories

1. JPSC-JSSC Protest: Students seek talks with CM Hemant Soren before August 20 gherao 2. SC quashes Ranchi FIR, says commercial dispute cannot be turned into criminal case and more stories

August 16, 2026
SC quashes Ranchi FIR, says commercial dispute cannot be turned into criminal case

SC quashes Ranchi FIR, says commercial dispute cannot be turned into criminal case

August 16, 2026
Supreme Court gives big relief to Himadri Steel, sets aside ₹3.23-crore power theft demand

Supreme Court gives big relief to Himadri Steel, sets aside ₹3.23-crore power theft demand

August 16, 2026

Stay informed. Get Jharkhand's top stories in your inbox.

Free. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

About the Author

Suman Shrivastava