Congress says BJP colluding with Election Commission after MP Anurag Thakur flags irregularities in voter lists on seats won by top Opposition leaders.
Congress’s Pawan Khera demands electronic voter list for Varanasi, the PM’s constituency,
BJP counters Opposition shielding ‘illegal infiltrators’, alleges ‘vote theft’ in Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour, Kannauj.
The Congress party on Wednesday escalated its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, demanding that the 2024 Lok Sabha election be declared “null and void”. It accused the ruling party of colluding with the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct polls based on “fake voter lists”.
The charge follows former Union Minister Anurag Thakur, speaking at the BJP headquarters, alleging irregularities in voter registrations on the Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour and Kannauj constituencies, held by Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Abhishek Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, respectively. He also called on them to resign. He also flagged similar concerns in Tamil Nadu’s Kolathur Assembly seat, represented by Chief Minister MK Stalin, and Uttar Pradesh’s Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat, represented by Dimple Yadav, according to PTI.
In response, Congress media department chief Pawan Khera said Thakur’s possession of the detailed voter list data proved “deep alignment” between the BJP and the EC. “Where did he get the electronic voter list from? This is evidence of a crime. We demand it be handed to us within 24 hours so we can proceed with the investigation,” Khera said, seeking the Varanasi voter list to “verify whether the prime minister truly won.”
Khera alleged the general election was conducted on “fake voter lists” and said the BJP’s release of data for multiple constituencies “proves” this. “We demand the Lok Sabha election be considered null and void,” he told PTI.
Thakur hit back, accusing the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, and DMK of attacking the EC to protect their “vote bank of illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators” and other “intruders.” He defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls underway in Bihar and to be launched in other states, saying Opposition leaders were making a “hue and cry” because they were in the wrong.
“Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Kannauj to Diamond Harbour, everywhere one question is coming up—why did they make fake voters? Will they resign for indulging in ‘vote chori’ and protecting intruders?” Thakur said, adding, “Chor machaye shor”, meaning that those guilty are the loudest in protest.
With inputs from PTI.