Bengaluru, July 25 (IANS) Responding to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and claims of having concrete proof of cheating in a constituency in Karnataka, the state BJP has said the Congress leader’s refusal to accept electoral defeat has now descended into baseless conspiracy theories.

The Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, said on Friday, “The Lok Sabha results in Karnataka are a decisive mandate in favour of NDA and a resounding rejection of the Congress-led Karnataka government’s failures. But instead of introspecting, Rahul Gandhi is now blaming the Election Commission for covering up his party’s collapse, and CM Siddaramaiah is endorsing it, not to save democracy but to shield himself from brewing internal backlash and save his chair.”

The inclusion and deletion of voter names is a transparent process conducted in the presence of representatives from all political parties, Ashoka noted.

If there were any legitimate concerns, they should have been raised with evidence before the Election Commission or courts, not turned into political drama after losing, Ashoka pointed out.

BJP’s victory is a result of people’s trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi, not some imaginary “vote theft” narrative peddled by Congress, he said.

“If Rahul Gandhi claims to have proof, what is stopping him from initiating legal action? Why the delay?” Ashoka challenged.

“This is nothing but a textbook example of Congress’ political bankruptcy, blaming everyone but themselves for their failures,” he underlined.

“Karnataka BJP unit strongly condemns this attempt to undermine public faith in democratic institutions just because the outcome didn’t favour them,” Ashoka charged.

Rahul Gandhi had stated, “The Election Commission is not functioning as the Election Commission of India. The fact of the matter is, the Election Commission is not doing its job. Now, we have concrete, hundred per cent proof of the Election Commission allowing cheating in a seat in Karnataka.”

Responding to allegations by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, against the ECI and his claims of having concrete proof that the ECI allowed cheating for a seat in Karnataka, the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka has refuted the charges, stating that the electoral rolls were prepared transparently and copies were shared with recognised political parties.

The statement further stated, “As informed by the Election Commission of India already, Electoral Rolls are shared with all recognised political parties. During Special Summary Revision-2024, which was taken up before the General Elections to Lok Sabha-2024, the copies of draft and final electoral rolls of all 224 Assembly constituencies were provided to representatives of all registered and recognised political parties, including the Indian National Congress (INC).”

Supporting the statement of Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday stated that the Congress party’s setback in the parliamentary elections was due to the BJP’s misuse of the Election Commission.

CM Siddaramaiah, in his press statement, said, “The outcome of the recent Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka not only surprised us but also gave rise to several doubts. It is now becoming evident that the main reason behind the Congress party’s setback in that election was the BJP’s misuse of the Election Commission to carry out irregularities.”

–IANS

mka/dpb