Special press briefing by LoP Shri Rahul Gandhi | #VoteChori | AICC HQ, New Delhi.Here’s a breakdown of Rahul Gandhi’s special press briefing at AICC Headquarters under the #VoteChori banner:
Press Briefing Overview
- On August 7, 2025, Rahul Gandhi delivered a high-profile press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, calling it his “atom bomb” moment where he unveiled what he claims is incontrovertible evidence of electoral fraud by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in collusion with the BJP (India Today, mint).
- His investigative team, after six months of manual analysis of voter lists in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Bangalore Central, identified 1,00,250 suspicious entries. The breakdown included:
- 11,965 duplicate voters
- 40,009 voters with fake or invalid addresses
- 10,452 bulk registrations at single addresses
- 4,132 entries with invalid or missing photographs
- 33,692 apparent misuses of Form 6, listing older individuals as new voters (India Today, SabrangIndia, TheQuint).
- Gandhi accused the ECI of facilitating vote theft, particularly highlighting discrepancies in Mahadevapura where BJP’s victory margin contradicted local trends. He claimed that without these “stolen” votes, the political outcome could have shifted dramatically (India Today, mint).
Aftermath & Responses
- The Election Commission responded swiftly, calling the allegations baseless and demanded Rahul Gandhi submit a declaration or affidavit, including specifics about the names and details of the voters he flagged (mint).
- Gandhi pushed back, stating on X: “My word is an oath,” reaffirming that his team’s findings were based on publicly available ECI data. He also demanded machine-readable voter data and CCTV footage from polling stations to allow for transparent verification (Outlook India, mint).
- Senior Congress figure Shashi Tharoor publicly supported Gandhi, stating that such questions “must be seriously addressed” and urging the ECI to act with transparency to preserve electoral credibility (The Times of India).
Quick Summary Table
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Event | Press briefing at AICC HQ, August 7, 2025 – labeled as “atom bomb” moment |
| Main Claim | Evidence of systematic voter roll manipulation in Mahadevapura (100k+) |
| ECI Response | Called allegations baseless; asked for formal proof under oath |
| Gandhi’s Defense | Relies on ECI’s own data; refused affidavit, calling his word sufficient |
| Political Support | Shashi Tharoor and others called for urgent investigation |
If you’d like, I can also locate official video footage, media excerpts, or reactions from other political figures following the briefing. Just say the word!