The controversy over claims of "vote theft" between the Election Commission and the Congress deepened on Saturday, with the poll body refuting a party-posted video claiming it was AI-made and aimed at deceiving voters in Bihar. The Commission emphasized that Bihar's electoral rolls are being prepared in complete transparency.
The video, posted on X by Congress handle, repeated allegations made by Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. It showed a woman claiming votes were "stolen" by recording living voters as dead, an elderly man accusing 80 fake voters being registered at his one-room house, and another person claiming his voting rights were being withheld. The parts of the video bear an 'AI generated' watermark.
The video also called for the removal of those involved in the alleged “vote theft” and urged people to join Gandhi’s ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar from Sunday, organised to protest supposed irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in the state.
Several hours later, the Election Commission responded to the allegations, terming the video an AI-created one and a "clear attempt to mislead the voters of Bihar." It reiterated that SIR is ongoing openly with engagement from all stakeholders.
"Electoral Rolls for every Assembly Constituency of Bihar are being prepared lawfully and in complete transparency by the concerned SDM/ERO (sub-divisional magistrates/electoral registration officer), complete involvement of more than 90,000 BLOs (booth level officers), and complete involvement of all electors of the respective Assembly Constituency," the EC stated.
The poll body also noted political party participation, mentioning that over 1.6 lakh BLAs (booth level agents) of all 12 recognized parties in Bihar, including Congress, are involved in the process.
Earlier this month, Gandhi had accused the EC of being in league with the BJP to indulge in voter fraud, citing an investigation in Karnataka's Mahadevapura Assembly segment during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Congress and other parties have also alleged that the names of living voters were deleted during Bihar's SIR process.
Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the EC to publish the names of 65 lakh persons deleted from the rolls, including 22 lakh allegedly marked as dead, and the reasons for their deletion. The other reasons quoted are persons having shifted permanently from Bihar, not traced, or already registered as voters in other places.
The Election Commission reiterated that the SIR process aims to ensure accurate voter rolls and guaranteed that “every eligible voter” would be included. On Gandhi’s allegations, the EC urged him to provide proof and avoid using terms like “vote chori,” which it called “an assault on the integrity” of poll officials.
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