Give proof of vote fraud: 3 state CEOs to Rahul

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi 's "vote chori" allegations drew reminder notices Sunday from the chief electoral officers of three states, with Haryana and Maharashtra seeking affidavits under oath, and Karnataka asking for documents in a specific case involving a woman who publicly disputed his claim that she voted twice in 2024 LS olls.

"On inquiry, Shakun Rani (the voter in question from Mahadevapura) stated that she has voted only once and not twice, as alleged by you...," Karnataka CEO V Anbukkumar said in his second letter to Rahul.
Pressure mounts on Rahul to file vote affidavit

Preliminary inquiry conducted by this office also reveals that the tick-marked document shown by you in the presentation is not a document issued by the polling officer," Karnataka CEO V Anbukkumar said in his second letter in four days to Rahul Gandhi. EC sources said "tick marks" against Shakun Rani's name on separate lists flagged by Rahul as "EC data" appeared fabricated, based on information in Form 17A maintained and retained by the respective polling officers.

Access to Form 17A is limited to authorised EC officials and these are not shared with political parties. Polling agents of parties get polling records in Form 17C, which do not contain photographs. Form 17A is only produced if a court seeks it.

Maharashtra's chief electoral officer S Chockalingam, who first wrote to Lok Sabha LoP on Aug 7, sent a reminder to submit his "declaration/oath" within 10 days so that proceedings could be initiated. In his first letter, the bureaucrat mentioned the dates on which the draft and final rolls had been shared with Congress, also pointing out that the party never filed first appeals with the district magistrates or second appeals with the election office. The letter specified that election results could only be contested in a high court. "You are kindly requested to sign and return the enclosed Declaration/Oath under rule 20(3) (B) of the Registration of Electoral Rules 1960 with the names of such electors," it said.

In an identical notice, Haryana CEO A Sreenivas gave Rahul 10 days to submit an affidavit under oath specifying his allegations about vote fraud along with supporting documents.

A day after the presser, Sreenivas said his office had shared copies of electoral rolls with representatives of Congress during the meetings ahead of elections. The CEO said if the party doubted the fairness of the process, it would need to challenge the voting results in Punjab and Haryana HC and provide details of the "claims and objections made before officials". The first letter from Sreenivas to Rahul was sent on Saturday.

Sources said flashing a "forged document" at a presser could spell legal consequences for Rahul, including an FIR for violation of Section 337 of BNS, which stipulates a jail term of up to seven years.