Aland 'vote theft': Election Commission blatantly lying, says Priyank Kharge

Karnataka Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) Priyank Kharge on Sunday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of ‘blatantly lying’ about applications to delete 6,000-odd voters from the electoral rolls in Aland Assembly constituency during the 2023 Assembly election. 

In a post on ‘X’, Priyank shared the copy of a letter by the ECI dated September 19, 2025, wherein it was claimed that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka, had handed over ‘all available information with the commission to the Superintendent of Police, Kalaburgi district, on September 06, 2023.’

The letter had added: “The CEO, Karnataka has been providing continuous
assistance, and will share further information and documents, to the investigation agency.”

Refutes claims

Refuting the commission’s claims, Priyank shared the copy of a letter from the Deputy SP to the CEO dated February 25, 2025, along with the copy of another letter dated March 14, 2025, from the CEO to the Principal Secretary, ECI. 

Slamming the ECI, Priyank wrote, “The Office of the CEO, Karnataka had sent a reminder to you on March 14, 2025, seeking information on: ‘Was OTP/Multifactor authentication facility adopted in NVSP & VHA apps, platforms, was OTP/authentication facility extended for uploading the applications. If so, provide details, If authentication like OTP exists, whether the OTP will be sent to the Mobile No used for login or Mobile Number provided in the form by the applicant or both?’ Despite multiple reminders, you have been playing dumb and lying to the public about having furnished all details to the investigation agencies.”