Kharge blames ‘vote theft’ for his 2019 LS poll defeat

All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday alleged  that his defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Kalaburagi constituency was the result of “electoral fraud”.

Stating that he has never faced defeat in his long political career, except in 2019, Mr. Kharge claimed he was a victim of election rigging.

Addressing the ‘Vote Adhikar Rally’ here, Mr. Kharge said, “In my long political career, I lost for the first time in 2019 Lok Sabha polls due to election fraud.”

“The BJP engaged in ‘bogus voting’, securing up to 20,000 votes in each of the five Assembly segments under the Kalaburagi Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 Parliamentary election,” he alleged.

“In the last 11 years, we have seen every institution crumbling under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), CBI and Income Tax, Judiciary, media and even constitutional office holders have been taken over by the BJP-RSS. The ED and CBI are used to harass and intimidate people. Senior leaders of the Congress, including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, are being targeted. Even our Chief Minister was not spared,” he said.

Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar extended full support to Mr. Rahul Gandhi in his fight to protect the Constitution and voters’ rights. 

“This is a historic fight. Rahul Gandhi has sent a strong message about protecting the Constitution and voters’ rights. Karnataka is writing the foreword for the election fraud expose in the country. Mr. Rahul Gandhi, during a recent event on the Constitution, had called for setting up legal banks in every booth to protect voters’ rights. We are committed to do that,” he said.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should immediately step down from his post. “He has no moral right to continue in his post. Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote fraud’ expose has shown that he has stolen seats to remain in power,” Mr Siddaramaiah said.