Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's recent tirade against the Election Commission of India, alleging large-scale manipulation of voter lists with a view to benefit the ruling party at the Centre appears to have caused a clear rift within the already fractured Karnataka unit of the Congress party.
Addressing a rally in Bengaluru last week, Rahul alleged that the Election Commission of India acted with bias and claimed that discrepancies in the voter lists in key constituencies like Bangalore Central had resulted in the Congress' defeat in the Lok Sabha elections last year.
Karnataka Cooperation minister KN Rajanna, an influential leader of the Congress and a known supporter of Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah, has questioned the lack of accountability for the said discrepancies on the Congress' part and sought to remind the party leadership that it was its own government which was in power when the revision of voter lists had taken place.
"One should remember that voter lists were revised when our government was at the helm. Why did our party turn a blind eye then? It is true that there are irregularities, but it is insulting for us that it happened right under our nose," Rajanna said, according to TOI.
The minister further said that it was the responsibility of the party leaders to act in a timely manner on issues such as electoral rolls and pointed out that the ECI had invited objections after publishing draft electoral rolls.
"We should have raised objections then, especially in the case of Mahadevapura where there are many instances of malpractice. After keeping silent when we were supposed to talk, we are talking about it now," Rajanna said.
The comments, however, did not go down well with the supporters of Karnataka Congress president and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar who accused Rajanna and others of acting against the interests of the party.
"The state government has decided to investigate the issue of vote theft and it has asked the Advocate General to submit a report. Talking negatively against our own party and government even before the investigation is over is unpardonable. The high command must take serious note of it and end such anti-party activities," Congress MLA HD Ranganath said.
The Opposition BJP, however, has pounced on the opportunity to highlight the rift within the Congress on the issue of alleged "vote fraud".
"Rahul should open his eyes at least now, as his own party members are reiterating what we have said. I will soon make a powerpoint presentation on this in New Delhi," said BJP leaer and former Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali.
Notably, Rahul Gandhi on August 7 launched an offensive against the Election Commission on August 7, claiming over 1 lakh votes were "stolen" through methods such as duplicate entries, fake addresses, and bulk registrations at a single address in Karnataka's Mahadevpura Assembly segment.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka, however, shot back with a notice to the Lok Sabha LoP, asking for documentary evidence to back his claims of voter fraud during the Lok Sabha elections.
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