The notice came days after Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, alleged “vote theft” in Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra. Soon after, the Election Commission urged him to either sign a declaration to back his allegations or “apologise to the nation” for making “absurd” claims.
The Karnataka chief electoral officer (CEO) on Sunday issued a notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, asking him to submit documents supporting his claim that a woman had voted twice.
The notice came days after Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, alleged “vote theft” in Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra. Soon after, the Election Commission urged him to either sign a declaration to back his allegations or “apologise to the nation” for making “absurd” claims.
Karnataka’s top poll body said the documents would help conduct a detailed inquiry. Gandhi had shown some papers at a press conference in New Delhi last week.
Notice to Shri Rahul Gandhi, Hon’ble Member of Parliament and LoP, Lok Sabha.@ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/plSfgoeytZ
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) August 10, 2025
“You have also stated that as per the records given by the polling officer, Smt Shakun Rani had voted twice… On inquiry, Smt Sakun Rani has stated that she has voted only once and not twice, as alleged by you,” the notice read.
A preliminary probe by the CEO’s office found that the tick-marked document shown by Gandhi “was not issued by the polling officer,” the letter stated.
“Therefore, you are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents on the basis of which you have concluded that Smt Shakun Rani or anyone else has voted twice, so that a detailed inquiry can be undertaken by this office,” it added.
The Election Commission, in a statement, said, “Rahul Gandhi still has time to give a declaration on the first letter of CEO Karnataka or apologise to the country.”
Earlier, slamming the ECI for demanding an affidavit under oath over his “vote chori” (theft) claims, Gandhi on Friday said he had already taken his oath inside Parliament on the Constitution and would not be silenced.
Speaking at the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ in Bengaluru, Gandhi alleged that the EC and BJP colluded to “steal” the 2024 Lok Sabha election in at least three states, warning officials involved that they would be caught “one by one”.
“The EC asks me to file an affidavit and give information under oath. I have taken oath inside Parliament, in front of the Constitution, on the Constitution,” he said, adding that if the poll panel did not release data, the Congress would audit 15 to 25 seats with narrow victory margins, similar to its probe in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency.
“In the last election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP leaders assaulted the Constitution. Indian institutions were destroyed… The Lok Sabha election was stolen,” he alleged. “Neither can you cover up nor hide. Every officer and the election commissioner should understand this properly. If you attack the Constitution, we will attack you.”
Describing the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls as “institutionalised chori”, Gandhi claimed EC websites in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Bihar had been shut down to avoid public scrutiny. The poll panel has rejected the charges.
Gandhi also posed five questions to the EC, asking why it refused to release voter lists in machine-readable format, why video evidence was being destroyed, and why it was “hreatening the opposition instead of answering questions.”
