The Congress has expanded its ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign to Mangaluru in Karnataka, raising concerns over alleged electoral irregularities and the deletion of names from voter lists.
On October 25, All India Congress Committee (AICC) working committee member Kamaleshwar Patel said the campaign aims to protect citizens’ voting rights and constitutional principles. The party has alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls in several states, though its claims do not by themselves establish electoral fraud.
Congress Flags Alleged Voter List Irregularities
Patel cited an analysis of voter entries in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura Assembly constituency, alleging 11,956 duplicate names, 40,009 addresses considered unauthentic and 10,452 registrations sharing a single address.
He also raised questions about voter-list changes in Maharashtra, Haryana and West Bengal. These figures were presented by Congress as evidence of possible irregularities; their interpretation and implications remain subject to verification.
Local Leaders Join the Campaign
Karnataka MLC Manjunath Bhandary said the campaign was intended to safeguard democratic rights, while Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee president Padmaraj R. Poojary said party workers were conducting awareness activities across the district.
The campaign seeks to draw public attention to concerns about voter registration and electoral-roll revisions.
Nationwide Campaign Ahead of Delhi Rally
The Congress launched the nationwide campaign on October 10 under the leadership of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The programme is scheduled to continue until November 26, with a major rally planned at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1.
The Mangaluru programme forms part of the party’s wider effort to mobilise supporters and press for action on its electoral-roll concerns.