Bengaluru: The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Karnataka has issued a notice to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, seeking documents to substantiate his recent claim of voter fraud.

In a press conference held in New Delhi on August 7, Gandhi had alleged that certain individuals, including one Smt. Shakun Rani, had cast their votes twice in the elections, citing what he described as “EC data” and documents purportedly issued by polling officers. He specifically stated, “Es ID card per do baar vote lagahai, wo jo tick hai, polling booth ke officer kihai” (This ID card shows two votes; the tick is by the polling booth officer).

However, according to the CEO’s office, Shakun Rani has denied voting more than once. A preliminary inquiry by election authorities also found that the “tick-marked” document shown during Gandhi’s presentation was not issued by a polling officer, contrary to his claim.

In the notice dated August 10, the CEO has asked Gandhi to furnish the original records or evidence on which his allegations were based. “You are kindly requested to provide the relevant documents… so that a detailed inquiry can be undertaken by this office,” the letter stated.