In an apparent bid to bolster its campaign against the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Congress has now dragged the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka into debate, raising questions over the credibility of the election process. However, the Congress’ claims of manipulation of electoral processes in the state hardly sound cogent. They also raise many questions about the party’s stand and strategy.
After its decisive victory in the 2023 assembly elections in which it won 136 seats in the 224-member assembly, the Congress went into the Lok Sabha polls with confidence of repeating the feat. The party, however, failed to reach a double-digit mark and had to be satisfied with just nine out of 28 seats. The BJP won 17, and its alliance partner JD(S) won two seats. For Congress, this was still a better result compared to its worst-ever performance of winning only one Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 elections.
Immediately after the results were announced on June 4 in 2024, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress president DK Shivakumar acknowledged that the party had not performed as well as they had expected. They were hoping to win around 15 seats in the state as the party was in power and the government had implemented guarantee schemes.
Now, over a year after the LS polls, the Congress’ sudden claim of electoral manipulation has left many, including some within their own party, baffled. The CM and DyCM echoed their party leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations against the ECI. “I fully support Rahul Gandhi’s statement that there is clear and undeniable evidence of electoral malpractice in Karnataka. In several constituencies across the state, our party workers reported sudden and suspicious additions of new voters, while names of long-time voters were removed without justification,” Siddaramaiah stated. Shivakumar also claimed that many irregularities have taken place, and that he has started his “own investigation” in the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency.
The Bengaluru Rural LS constituency was the only seat Congress had won in 2019, but lost in 2024. BJP’s Dr CN Manjunath defeated Congress’s DK Suresh – DK Shivakumar’s brother – by a margin of over 2.69 lakh votes. The BJP’s strategy of fielding former PM HD Deve Gowda’s son-in-law Dr Manjunath, as its candidate, had clicked as both the BJP and JD(S) worked together to ensure his victory.
The inevitability of the CM and DyCM backing Rahul Gandhi’s allegations is understandable, especially given the current political developments within the party. However, Congress leaders have to come out with what they claim to be “clear and undeniable evidence of electoral malpractice in Karnataka.”
The CM also claimed that the Congress party’s setback in the LS polls was due to the manipulation of the electoral process by the BJP through its misuse of the Election Commission. If that was indeed the case, the party leaders should explain what the manipulation was, how and in which constituencies it impacted the election outcome. It also needs to tell people why they did not raise it immediately after the polls and seek remedial measures from the appropriate authorities.
While a lot depends on the kind of evidence the Congress comes up with – if at all it does – to back its allegations, the Election Commission has maintained that due process was followed during the LS elections in Karnataka. Those who are privy to the processes say that there are enough checks and balances to prevent any such manipulation, and all political parties are also involved in the process of making any changes, including additions and deletions, while electoral rolls are given to the parties as well as published on the website before the polls.
Just as the ECI has a reason to claim that due process was followed, as a political party, Congress may have its justifications to express concerns and call for a more transparent system. But now that the party, including the CM, have made serious allegations over the credibility of the process with regard to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the state, the onus is on them to substantiate the charges. Although the CM stated that they are holding discussions with AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi to decide the course of action, it is not clear how the party will take it forward, if at all it does.