‘…H Bomb Is Coming’: Rahul Gandhi Doubles Down ‘Vote Chori’ Allegations In ‘The Aland Files’ Presser, Says ‘CEC Defending Murderers Of Democracy’

**Rahul Gandhi Launches Fresh Attack on Election Commission Over Alleged Vote Deletion in Karnataka**

*New Delhi:* Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday once again launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI). Doubling down on his “vote chori” allegations against the ECI and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Gandhi held a press conference titled **’The Aland Files’**, where he alleged the deletion of 6,018 votes in Karnataka’s Aland assembly constituency during the 2023 elections.

Without directly mentioning the BJP, the Congress leader accused the poll body of protecting what he called “murderers of democracy.”

### “Not the H-bomb, But a Milestone”

Gandhi began the special press conference by stating,
*”First of all, this is not the H-bomb, the H-bomb is coming. This is another milestone in setting up and demonstrating to the youth of this country how elections are being rigged.”*

During the briefing, he alleged that “somebody” tried to delete 6,018 votes in Aland constituency in a centralized manner using software—not by individual intervention.

### Details of the Alleged Vote Deletion

“Aland is a constituency in Karnataka. Somebody tried to delete 6,018 votes,” Gandhi said. “We don’t know the total number of votes that were deleted in Aland in the 2023 election. They are much higher than 6,018, but somebody got caught deleting those 6,018 votes, and it was caught by coincidence.”

Explaining how the deletion was uncovered, the Congress leader revealed that a booth-level officer noticed her uncle’s vote had been deleted. Upon investigating, she found that a neighbor was involved. However, neither the neighbor nor the uncle was aware of the deletion, indicating that “some other force hijacked the process.”

### Allegation Against Chief Election Commissioner

Gandhi also targeted Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyaneshwar Kumar, accusing him of defending “murderers” of democracy by refusing to provide details about the deleted votes.

### Vote Deletion Using Automated Software

The Congress MP further alleged that 6,018 applications were filed in Aland impersonating voters. “The people who filed these applications actually never filed them. The filing was done automatically using software,” he said. Gandhi asserted that mobile numbers from outside Karnataka, including from different states, were used to target Congress voters by deleting their names from the rolls.

He explained,
*”Let’s talk about how this is being done and why I’m saying and we are saying that this is being done in a centralised manner, and this is being done not using individuals but software. Look at the serial numbers… A software is picking up the first name in the booth and using it to delete votes.”*

“Someone ran an automated program to ensure that the first voter at the booth was the applicant. That same person got cell phones from outside the state, used them to file the applications, and we are pretty certain that this was done centrally and at scale. This was not done at a worker level; this was done at a higher level,” Gandhi asserted.

### Previous Allegations of Vote Manipulation

Last month, Rahul Gandhi had claimed that over one lakh votes were “stolen” through manipulation in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment. He had described “vote chori” as an “atom bomb on our democracy.”

Earlier in September, during his **‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’**, Gandhi warned BJP members to get ready for the “hydrogen bomb” pertaining to his allegations of vote theft, indicating that what was revealed about the Mahadevapura constituency was just an “atom bomb.”

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Rahul Gandhi’s latest allegations have once again brought the spotlight on the Election Commission and the integrity of the electoral process in Karnataka. The ECI is yet to officially respond to these fresh claims.
https://www.freepressjournal.in/india/h-bomb-is-coming-rahul-gandhi-doubles-down-vote-chori-allegations-in-the-aland-files-presser-says-cec-defending-murderers-of-democracy