Aland vote theft case: Subhash Guttedar, son deny charges, call it ‘politically motivated’

BJP leader and former Aland MLA Subhash Guttedar and his son Harshanand Guttedar have rejected the charges levelled against them in the chargesheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing alleged voter fraud during the 2023 Assembly elections in Aland constituency.

Responding to the SIT naming them as prime accused, the father-son duo claimed that the move was politically motivated and timed to suit the Congress party’s “vote theft” narrative ahead of the planned agitation in New Delhi on Sunday.

Addressing the media in Kalaburagi on Saturday, the Guttedars said the chargesheet had been filed in haste.

“The elections were held in 2023, and B.R. Patil did not raise the issue of vote theft for two-and-a-half years. Only after Rahul Gandhi started speaking about ‘vote theft’ at the national level did Mr. Patil claim that it had happened in Aland as well,” Mr. Subhash Guttedar said.

He said he had already been cleared by courts in earlier cases where serious allegations had been made against him and expressed confidence of getting relief in the present case as well. He added that both he and his son had cooperated with the SIT and given statements, clearly stating that they had no role in any alleged voter deletion.

“Deletion of voters is a process governed by rules. Form 7 has to be submitted, Anganwadi workers forward it, and the tahsildar scrutinises it. It is not something that we can do on our own,” he said, denying any contact with those who had allegedly applied for voter deletion.

Asked about his next course of action, he said he would challenge the chargesheet legally and alleged that the move was aimed at preventing him from contesting future elections.

Echoing his father’s views, Harshanand Guttedar said an earlier inquiry by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had made no headway for nearly two years.

The SIT chargesheet followed an investigation into allegations of large-scale deletion and manipulation of voters’ names in Aland constituency during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections.