Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar addressing the media on August 17, 2025, refuting 'vote chori' allegations and emphasizing constitutional integrity (ANI)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has dismissed 'vote chori' allegations made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and branded the term misleading and insulting to the Constitution.
The reason for the dispute is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, which Gandhi and other opposition leaders say is a deliberate attempt to prepare the voter lists for manipulation ahead of the assembly elections.
As Chief Election Commissioner on August 17, 2025, Gyanesh Kumar told the media that the ECI treats all political parties equally and upholds the principle of "one person, one vote," as formulated in the Constitution since 1951.
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He strongly condemned the expression "vote chori" as undignified and asserted that such language diminishes the credibility of the electoral process and the trust of the voters.
Venugopal further alleged lack of transparency by the ECI, especially in providing machine-readable voter lists and CCTV footage of polling stations. He asserted that the burden of detecting and rectifying anomalies should not solely fall on political parties and their agents.
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The ECI has challenged opposition leaders to provide evidence in support of their allegations of electoral malpractices. It also stated that last allegations made without evidence are baseless and hurt the reputation of electoral democracy.
While explaining why the CCTV footage from polling stations cannot be released, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said that it would endanger the voters and infringe on their constitutional rights. He said that in 2019, the Supreme Court had already approved this principle by stating that unrestricted access could compromise individual privacy.
Without naming Rahul Gandhi, the CEC indirectly refuted Congress leader's "vote chori" allegations. He suggested that formulating unverified claims as facts not only misleads the public but also undermines the Constitution itself.
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On the subject of duplicate entries, Kumar criticized showing the photographs of the voters publicly, cautioning that these kinds of behavior breach consent and prove disastrous regarding people trusting the democratic process.
With the Bihar assembly elections looming, the tussle between the Election Commission and the opposition parties emphasizes the crucial need for transparency and accountability in India's electoral processes. On some areas, reforms and scrutiny have been sought by both sides and this only heightens the need for an electoral system that is perceived as fair and credible.
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