Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar at a press conference in Bengaluru on November 8. | Photo credit: PTI
Alleging that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was involved in an “electoral roll scam”, the Congress announced that 1.12 million signatures had been collected from the state as part of a signature campaign against “vote theft” launched by the All India Congress Committee.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar held a joint press conference at the party office and alleged that the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has destroyed all constitutional institutions, including the ECI and investigative agencies. All the institutions were functioning as per the instructions of the BJP government at the Centre, they alleged.
The two leaders explained the methodology used for vote rigging in the state and claimed that the BJP has a proven track record “not only of lying but also of rigging votes”.
“We will not tolerate it. We will take the path of struggle to protect the values of democracy and the constitution,” said the chief minister.
“Rahul Revealed”
They alleged that the BJP came to power in many states and the Lok Sabha through vote rigging. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, after an investigation, convinced the people of the country about the election rigging that took place in Haryana with the help of documents, the two leaders said.
Mr Gandhi also clearly exposed the vote rigging that took place in the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat along with documents, Congress leaders said.
Mr. Shivakumar said, “We collected signatures from districts in the state. The campaign went very well and we collected 1.12 lakh signatures.”
KPCC decided to take the signatures to Delhi on November 10. The party was planning a massive rally at Ram Lila Maidan there on November 25, he said.
The Congress government has decided to hold local body elections through ballots, Mr. Shivakumar added.
The Aland case
“There were attempts to remove 6,000 votes from the Aland Assembly constituency. Attempts were made to remove voters from the list using mobile phone numbers from other states. Investigations by a special investigation team were underway,” he said.
Asked why the party did not go to court or submit an affidavit to the ECI, he said, “We are asking for additional documents from the Election Commission, but they are not giving. Let them provide the documents and then we will submit the affidavit.”
“It is our duty to create awareness about vote theft. We are appointing booth level agents for all booths to prevent vote theft,” the KPCC chief said.
Asked if he would investigate the electoral fraud in Mahadevapura constituency, he said, “The government does not need to investigate. The ECI is in charge of the entire process. We have provided the evidence.”
Published – 8 Nov 2025 18:25 IST
