‘He’s a desperate leader’: BJP state president Vijayendra slams Rahul Gandhi over ‘fake vote’ allegation

BENGALURU: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president B Y Vijayendra called Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi a “desperate leader” over his allegation of creating fake votes in Karnataka.

Vijayendra said, “I feel pity for Rahul Gandhi. He is a desperate leader who has failed continuously to gain the confidence of the people of this country… Failed Rahul Gandhi has alleged malpractices and blamed the Election Commission…”

Narrating a past incident, Vijayendra said, “When Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, Mamata Banerjee raised the issue in Parliament that thousands of illegal Bangladeshi migrants were added to the voter list in Bihar, for which she was suspended from Parliament… Rahul Gandhi and Congress are following the same path”.

#WATCH | Bengaluru, Karnataka | BJP State President BY Vijayendra says, “I feel pity for Rajul Gandhi. He is a desperate leader who has failed continuously to gain the confidence of the people of this country… Failed Rahul Gandhi has alleged malpractices and blamed the Election… pic.twitter.com/Lz15QyJZko

— ANI (@ANI) August 8, 2025

The remarks came in response to a press conference held by Rahul Gandhi on August 7, where he claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were “choreographed” by the EC to benefit the BJP, which he said appeared “immune to anti-incumbency”.

Citing internal analysis, Gandhi said the Congress expected to win 16 seats in Karnataka, but ended up with only nine. He said the Congress investigated seven unexpected losses, zeroing in on Mahadevapura Assembly segment, where he alleged vote theft involving 1,00,250 votes.

Presenting Congress’ research on voting in the Mahadevapura Assembly in Karnataka, Rahul Gandhi alleged “vote chori” (vote theft) of 1,00,250 votes. “Our internal polling told us we would win 16 seats in Karnataka; we won nine. We then focused on seven unexpected losses. We focused on Mahadevapur…All data is 2024 data from the Election Commission; the total votes polled in the Lok Sabha were 6.26 lakhs. The BJP won with 6,58,915, securing a margin of 32,707. But then we look at Mahadevapura, where Congress polls 1,15,586 and BJP polls 2,29,632. Congress wins all Vidhan Sabhas but this one,” the Congress leader said.

“We found 1,00,250 votes stolen. Stolen in five different ways. Duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, and bulk voters in a single address, on a building with 50-60 people living. But when we go there, no record of those people living there. One family living in that house”, he added. (ANI)