Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Aug 10: Stepping up his offensive against the Election Commission of India (ECI), Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched a public campaign titled "Vote Chori" aimed at exposing alleged voter fraud and demanding the release of digital voter rolls.
In a video message posted on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi urged citizens to support what he described as a fight to protect democracy. “It is critical that we expose Voter Chori. A clean voter roll is imperative for free and fair elections,” he said, encouraging people to visit the campaign website http://votechori.in/ecdemand or give a missed call on 9650003420,” to register their support.
“Vote Chori is an attack on the foundational idea of 'one man, one vote'. Our demand from the EC is clear – be transparent and release digital voter rolls so that people and parties can audit them,” Gandhi wrote on X.
March to ECI Planned
Gandhi’s announcement comes ahead of a planned INDIA bloc march on Monday from Parliament House to the ECI office, where opposition MPs will submit a formal demand for access to voter data. The 1 km protest march is part of a broader strategy by the opposition to highlight alleged electoral manipulation, particularly in light of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
Sources said that Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge will host a dinner for INDIA bloc MPs on the same day to consolidate the alliance’s stand on electoral transparency and poll reform.
ECI Pushes Back
The Election Commission has rejected Gandhi’s allegations as “baseless”, reiterating its commitment to conducting free, fair, and transparent elections. However, the Congress party continues to press for the release of electronic voter lists from the past 10 years and associated video recordings to allow independent auditing of electoral processes.
At an earlier event in Bengaluru on August 8, Gandhi warned that failure by the ECI to share these records would be tantamount to concealing electoral fraud.
With the vice presidential election approaching and concerns over electoral integrity dominating opposition discourse, the Vote Chori campaign signals a sharpening political narrative aimed at energising public discourse around voting rights and institutional accountability.