New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) announced on Saturday that it will hold a press conference at the National Media Centre, Raisina Road, New Delhi, on Sunday, August 17, at 3:00 PM.
According to the announcement, only journalists and still or TV camerapersons accredited with the Press Information Bureau (PIB) will be permitted to attend. This will mark the first press conference conducted by the ECI following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The press conference comes at a politically charged time, just ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s planned ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar. Gandhi has been protesting against the SIR exercise, urging citizens to join what he has described as a “people’s movement.”
This will also be the first time the poll body addresses the media since opposition parties accused the ECI of being complicit in “vote theft” during the Bihar revision drive and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
On August 1, Rahul Gandhi alleged in a press conference that the ECI was directly involved in large-scale voter fraud, claiming Congress had “open-and-shut proof” that votes were being stolen to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Votes are being stolen. We have open-and-shut proof that the Election Commission is involved in this vote theft. And I’m not saying this lightly—I’m speaking with 100% proof. And when we release it, the entire country will come to know that the Election Commission is enabling vote theft. And who are they doing it for? They’re doing it for the BJP,” Gandhi had said.
Later, on August 7, Gandhi presented what he called evidence of “vote chori” (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka, again alleging collusion between the ECI and the BJP. He claimed this collusion had “choreographed” the elections and enabled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to secure a third term.
Doubling down on Friday, Gandhi warned that “times will change and punishment will be meted out” to those allegedly involved in the scam.
