Rahul Gandhi Accuses Election Commission of Withholding Digital Voter Records
New Delhi, August 26, 2025 –
India’s Opposition Leader, Rahul Gandhi, has accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of refusing to share digital voter records, raising questions about transparency in the country’s electoral process.
Gandhi, leader of the Congress party, claims that errors in voter lists and alleged manipulation affected the outcome of the 2024 parliamentary elections. He said his party lost multiple seats due to duplicate or “fake” votes, citing instances where multiple registrations occurred at the same address.
“Our demand is simple — the Election Commission must release digital voter rolls for audit so that parties and citizens can verify the records,” Gandhi stated.
The ECI has strongly denied these allegations, calling them “false and misleading.” Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar emphasized that the commission upholds its constitutional duties without discrimination and urged critics to provide proof or issue an apology.
Gandhi has also launched a month-long voter rights rally in Bihar, ahead of upcoming state elections in October or November. He criticized the “Special Intensive Revision” of voter registration in Bihar, claiming it could lead to removal of legitimate voters and addition of fraudulent entries.
The Election Commission defended the revision exercise, noting it helps prevent ineligible or foreign voters from being added to the rolls. Officials also highlighted that changes, including replacing machine-readable voter records with scanned files, were meant to streamline verification but have faced criticism for making anomaly detection more difficult.
The controversy comes amid heightened political activity as parties prepare for key elections in Bihar and across India, with voter registration revisions set to expand nationwide.
