Rahul Gandhi at the Congress rally in Freedom Park; Ex-Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavalli.
Credit: DH Photos
Former BJP minister Aravind Limbavali, a three-time MLA from Bengaluru's Mahadevapura, has rebutted Congress leader and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's claim of 'vote theft' in his constituency.
Mahadevapura is now represented by Limbavali's wife Manjula.
Limbavali has accused Gandhi of misleading the entire country with "baseless" claims. However, he did concede that if there are anomalies in the voter lists, they must be addressed.
"It is the collective responsibility of all political parties and the Election Commission," he said, claiming the rectification process has started with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
"Rahul has claimed that over one lakh votes in Mahadevapura were stolen. What he doesn't say is how many voters out of that one lakh actually voted," he said.
Congress' accusations
Voter Gurkirat Singh's name is present in four different voter lists
Aditya Srivastava is a voter in Lucknow, Mumbai, as well as Mahadevapura.
40,009 voters with either invalid or fake addresses like '0'.
80 voters in House number 35 in Munireddy Garden.
10,452 cases of bulk voters at a single address.
70-year-old Shakun Rani, a first-time voter, voted twice.
BJP's point-by-point rebuttal
Gurkirat Singh applied to get registered four times. It got rejected all four times. After seeing his name in four lists, Singh applied for cancellation in three.
Aditya, when he was 19, became a voter in Lucknow. After moving to Mumbai for a job, he became a voter there. After another job change, he moved to Bengaluru and became a voter here. Each time, he applied for a 'transfer' of his voter ID.
Voters with '0' as their address have also been found in Varuna (represented by CM Siddaramaiah), Sandur, Manvi, Maski, and other Congress-held constituencies.
Only six out of the 80 voters in House number 35 in Munireddy Garden actually cast their votes.
Bulk voters are common since migrant workers live in dormitory-like houses, hotels, and as paying guests. In Bengaluru's BTM Layout, which is represented by Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, booth number 100 has over 90 voters with the same address.
A native of Panipat, Shakun Rani had applied to become a voter in Mahadevpura, which got rejected. She applied again and voted only once. Similar double entries are found in Congress-held Shivajinagar and Chamarajpet, where voters named Aisha Banu and Rahmatulla figure in both segments.
(With DHNS inputs)