Rarebareli (UP), Sep 10 : Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said the slogan ‘vote chor, gaddi chhod’ (vote thief, vacate your seat of power) has proved across the country and the party will establish it in “more dramatic ways”.
Gandhi is in Uttar Pradesh for a two-day visit to his parliamentary constituency Raebareli. He reached Lucknow’s Chowdhury Charan Singh airport earlier in the day where he was received by Congress state president Ajai Rai and other senior leaders.
Talking to reporters before entering an event venue, Gandhi said, “The main slogan is ‘vote chor, gaddi chhod’ and that is being proved across the country. We will prove it again and again in more and more dramatic ways.”
Gandhi, speaking at a programme with party workers from Harchandpur Vidhan Sabha in Dedauli, referred to alleged instances of vote theft in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
While media was not allowed in the programme, PTI learnt that the Congress leader said that there was “black and white” evidence of vote theft in the Maharashtra and Karnataka assembly elections, which were held after the Lok Sabha polls.
“In Maharashtra, our party and our alliance won in the Lok Sabha, and four months later, we were wiped out in the assembly. When we investigated, we learnt that nearly one crore new voters had entered the election system after the Lok Sabha elections. Our and our allies’ votes remained the same, but all the new votes went to the BJP,” a source quoted Gandhi as saying.
According to the source, Gandhi said there was no change in the votes polled for the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena, but the BJP’s tally saw a “huge jump”, with every newly added voter going in its favour.
While addressing, the Congress MP said he had asked the Election Commission to investigate the matter and explain how one crore new voters appeared in four months.
“The Commission refused, saying they will not give us the list, nor provide any video,” the source said, quoting the Congress leader.
Gandhi further alleged that similar irregularities surfaced in Karnataka after elections. Congress workers scrutinised voters in one assembly segment of Bengaluru Central and found two lakh fake voters which led to the BJP’s victory there.
“Bengaluru Central has seven assembly constituencies. Our workers spent four months investigating just one, and that is what they found,” Gandhi said in the meeting.
Accusing the BJP of stealing votes, he alleged that such incidents were not limited to Bengaluru or Maharashtra.
“This has happened in Uttar Pradesh, in Haryana, in Madhya Pradesh, and in Gujarat it has happened on a massive scale. Gradually, we are presenting all the evidence before you,” Gandhi said, according to the source.
Referring to his recent election tour in Bihar, Gandhi also claimed that similar irregularities were noticed there as well.
“Some people who are alive have been struck off the voter list. They are not being treated as alive in the records,” he alleged.
During his visit, Gandhi was scheduled to attend multiple programmes and review developmental projects, party leaders said.
Posters with pictures of RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Gandhi and SP chief Akhilesh Yadav were put up in Raebareli saying: “India ki antim aasha, kalyug ke “Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh” (India’s last hope, Kalyug’s Brahma, Vishnu Mahesh).” Rai said Gandhi’s visit to Raebareli has infused fresh enthusiasm among party workers and people of the state.
“There is a wave of excitement and joy among people today. Our leader has completely exposed ‘vote chori’ (theft of votes) that took place in the country. The entire nation is feeling proud of him,” Rai told PTI.
He added that Gandhi’s presence in Raebareli has boosted the morale of Congress supporters across Uttar Pradesh.
District Congress president Pankaj Tiwari said Gandhi’s itinerary also included interaction with members of the Prajapati community at a city hotel, before inaugurating the Ashok Stambh at the Gora Bazaar crossing.
The Congress leader is scheduled to visit Moolihamau village to inspect a park built under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), he said.
In the evening, Gandhi will interact with booth-level workers of the Unchahar Assembly constituency. He will stay overnight at the NTPC guesthouse in Unchahar, Tiwari said.
On Thursday, Gandhi will meet Congress leaders and the representatives of various organisations, following which he will attend a meeting of the District Vigilance and Monitoring Committee at the collectorate’s Bachat Bhavan. (PTI)
