BENGALURU/ NEW DELHI, 26 JULY 

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah echoed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of large-scale electoral misconduct by the BJP, accusing the ruling party at the Centre of manipulating voter lists and undermining democratic institutions, including the Election Commission of India (EC).

Siddaramaiah said Gandhi was telling the truth when he alleged that genuine voters were being removed from the electoral rolls while fake names were being added.

"Such things have happened in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Karnataka," he said. "They are planning to do it in Bihar also".

Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of mischief and alleged that this manipulation was happening across the country.

"EC is working under the direction of the Central government. It’s not independent," he said. Declaring that democracy is under threat, Siddaramaiah announced that the Congress would launch a nationwide campaign to expose these alleged irregularities. He also clarified that he is not the Convenor of the OBC advisory committee but only a member under Anil Jaihind’s leadership.

Similarly, his Deputy DK Shivakumar said that there were bogus votes found in several urban booths across the State.

Shivakumar stated that the Congress party has conducted research in many booths and found that votes were shifted "without" any proper documents.

"We conducted research in many booths of Karnataka, especially in the urban sectors, where we found that votes were shifted there from various places without any proper documents. All bogus votes were created,” Shivakumar alleged. “We will present this evidence to the Election Commission. Whether they agree or not, that's a different issue".

On 24 July, Gandhi claimed to have "100 per cent" proof of the alleged manipulation in the State.