B Y Vijayendra
Credit: DH File Photo
Strongly rejecting Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of voter list manipulation during the recent Lok Sabha elections, Opposition Leader R Ashoka and BJP state president B Y Vijayendra on Friday described the claims “baseless, politically motivated, and akin to a dud firecracker”.
Addressing the media at Vidhana Soudha, Ashoka invoked provisions of the People’s Representation Act to clarify the process of electoral roll preparation. He pointed out that every registered political party is allowed to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs), who are responsible for verifying voter additions and deletions at the booth level. These agents are appointed with the approval of the respective state party president.
“Rahul Gandhi’s repeated accusations about voter list rigging indicate a systematic failure within his party,” Ashoka said. “The only plausible explanation is that BLAs appointed by Congress were inactive. In fact, it can be argued that KPCC president D K Shivakumar may have taken money in exchange for BLA appointments, and these appointees, trying to recover their investment, may have sold out the party’s interests,” he alleged.
Ashoka reiterated that neither Prime Minister Narendra Modi nor any BJP leader has a role in preparing the voter list, which is managed entirely by government officials. “Rahul Gandhi hasn’t dropped a bomb. It’s just a dud firecracker,” he said, mocking the Congress leader’s claims.
Meanwhile, speaking to reporters at the BJP state headquarters, Vijayendra slammed Congress for opposing the special revision of the electoral roll in Bihar—an exercise undertaken to eliminate fake and illegal voters.
He described Rahul Gandhi’s claims of widespread voting irregularities as misleading and said Rahul’s visit to Bengaluru was nothing more than a political stunt. “He will come, make some noise, and leave. This is just frustration and an insult to the voters,” Vijayendra said.
He also emphasised that any election-related grievances must be formally submitted within 45 days of the results being declared. “The Congress candidate from Bangalore Central should have raised the issue then. Congress has now become a party of fools,” he commented.