The Election Commission of India (EC) on Thursday, September 18, strongly refuted allegations made by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who had accused the poll body of enabling large-scale voter deletions and shielding those responsible.

In a statement to media sources, the EC called Gandhi’s accusations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar “incorrect and baseless.”

Responding to Gandhi’s claim that online deletions were being used to manipulate voter rolls, EC officials clarified that no member of the public can delete votes online. They stressed that every deletion must follow due process, including issuing a notice and giving the affected voter an opportunity to be heard before removal from the electoral roll.

Gandhi had cited alleged irregularities in Karnataka’s Aland constituency as an example of what he called the “murder of Indian democracy.” The EC acknowledged that there had been attempts to fraudulently delete votes in 2023 but confirmed that the deletions were unsuccessful. The Commission said it had proactively filed an FIR to initiate a police investigation into the matter.

Defending the fairness of the electoral process, EC officials pointed out that different parties had won in Aland in successive elections — BJP’s Subhadh Guttedar in 2018 and Congress’ BR Patil in 2023 — indicating a level playing field.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi alleged that a software-based, centralised mechanism was being used for voter deletions nationwide. He claimed the Karnataka CID had sent 18 letters to the EC over 18 months seeking technical data, including IP addresses and OTP logs, but received no response.

“EC knows who is doing this. They are defending the murderers of democracy,” Gandhi said, warning of an upcoming “hydrogen bomb” of disclosures on what he termed “vote chori.”

The EC has not yet issued an official press release but reiterated that it stands by the integrity of India’s electoral process.