A major controversy has erupted in the country after Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and Congress MP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at a press conference on Thursday, August 7, accused the Election Commission of manipulating data via fake voters.
He specifically pointed out said that one voter Aditya Srivastava (EPIC No. FPP6437040), son of S.P. Srivastava, and Vishal Singh (EPIC No. INB2722288), son of Mahipal Singh, have been listed as voters in multiple constituencies, a violation of electoral rules.
Rahul Gandhi refers to voter data
The LoP referred to voter data published by the Election Commission of India on March 16, 2025, to back his claims.
LoP Rahul Gandhi alleged that Aditya Srivastava is listed as a voter in Assembly Constituency 158 Jogeshwari East, Booth No. 197 in Mumbai, and Vishal Singh is listed in Assembly Constituency 174 Mahadevapura, Booth No. 458 in Bengaluru.
He also said both were shown as voters in Assembly Constituency 173, Lucknow East, Booth No. 84.
However, a fact-check by the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Uttar Pradesh revealed that the names mentioned are not listed as voters in the claimed constituencies.
The CEO’s office clarified after verifying records that Aditya Srivastava is still enrolled in Assembly Constituency 174, Mahadevapura (Booth No. 458, Part No. 1265), and Vishal Singh is enrolled in the same constituency (Booth No. 513, Part No. 926). Their names do not appear in Lucknow East or Varanasi Cantt constituencies as claimed.
Fact-check by Alt News co-founder
Meanwhile, Mohammed Zubair, Alt News co-founder, alleged that Aditya Srivastava is registered in Lucknow East, Jogeshwari East, and Mahadevpura constituencies.
On his X handle, he listed out a step-by-step method that can be used to check the name in the official data of the Election Commission.
Following Rahul Gandhi’s claims, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday slammed the EC. She asked the poll body to probe Rahul Gandhi’s poll rigging claims and said that it needs to rethink if it feels that its responsibility is only to the BJP.
