Election Commission to hold press conference on August 17

NEW DELHI: The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday announced that it will hold a press conference in the national capital on Sunday, August 17.

“The Election Commission of India shall be holding a Press Conference at 3:00 PM tomorrow, i.e. Sunday, August 17, 2025, at National Media Centre, Raisina Road, New Delhi,” the ECI stated.

This will be the first press conference conducted by the constitutional body following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.

According to the announcement, only journalists and still or TV camerapersons accredited with the Press Information Bureau (PIB) will be permitted entry to the venue.

The press conference comes ahead of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s planned ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ before the Bihar assembly elections, which he is undertaking in protest against the SIR exercise. Gandhi has urged people to “join this people’s movement.”

This will also be the first press conference since opposition leaders raised allegations of “vote theft” during the SIR exercise in Bihar and the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi in a press conference on August 1 had levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of direct involvement in large-scale voter fraud with the Congress having “open-and-shut proof” of the alleged theft.

Talking to reporters on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, the Congress leader alleged that the motive behind the voter fraud was to benefit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Rahul Gandhi said, “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 (proof), 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.

The Lok Sabha LoP later on August 7 held a press conference in which he presented Congress’ research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, Gandhi alleged “vote chori” (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes.

He launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the Election Commission and said that “collusion” happened between the poll body and the BJP, which resulted in Prime Minister Narendra Modi securing his third term.

He also slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) and alleged that the elections are “choreographed”.

Later, doubling down on his ‘vote theft’ claim, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said that times would change and punishment would surely be meted out to those who were involved in the “scam”. (ANI)