ECI Rejects Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Claim, Says Digital Voter Rolls Accessible To All

The Election Commission called Rahul Gandhi’s claim on digital voter lists “false,” stating rolls are downloadable and shared with all recognised parties.

Credit Image ( Photo : IANS )

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Sunday firmly rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claims that political parties are denied access to digital copies of electoral rolls. Calling his statement “absolutely false and totally misleading,” the poll panel said both digital and physical versions of the voter lists are regularly shared with recognised political parties.

Responding within hours to Gandhi’s renewed “Vote Chori” (vote theft) allegation, the ECI issued a fact-check stating, “Anyone — any elector or political party — can download the Electoral Rolls for any of the 36 States/UTs through the link:

https://voters.eci.gov.in/download-eroll and check for themselves.”

The commission explained that under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, every recognised political party receives both draft and final rolls in digital and printed formats before every election. It also stressed that these copies are officially shared under the signatures of election officials, including with the Congress party itself.

The clarification came soon after Gandhi launched a website to rally public support for the Congress campaign against alleged voter fraud. In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), he urged people to join the fight against “Vote Chori,” calling it an attack on the core principle of “one person, one vote.”

“Our demand from the EC is clear be transparent and release digital voter rolls so that people and parties can audit them,” Gandhi wrote, sharing links to join the campaign.

At a Bengaluru event on August 8, the Congress MP had also demanded that the ECI provide electronic voter lists for the past decade along with video recordings, warning that withholding such data would amount to concealing electoral fraud.

The ECI’s swift rebuttal appears aimed at countering any perception of non-transparency ahead of upcoming elections, reiterating that voter lists remain openly accessible to both citizens and political parties, reportedly.