Bengaluru, Aug 8 (UNI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge today alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had not won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections through the people’s mandate but had “stolen” them, asserting that “this government will not survive long”.
Speaking at the “Our Vote, Our Right, Our Struggle” protest programme, Kharge accused the BJP leadership of largescale electoral fraud. He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had, after a six-month probe, exposed irregularities in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment under Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency, uncovering discrepancies involving 6.6 lakh voters.
Kharge described the 2024 elections as a “betrayal of the people” and said the Congress was committed to protecting the Constitution, the right to vote, and democracy. “Modi and Amit Shah are attempting to win elections even without public support by resorting to vote theft,” he charged.
Accusing the BJP of misusing the Election Commission, Kharge said the current dispensation lacked moral legitimacy. “This is a stolen government. Modi claims he is working for the country’s development — this is a complete lie. Similar electoral malpractices have been detected in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh,” he alleged.
Recalling his defeat in the 2019 general elections — the first in his career after 12 consecutive wins — Kharge claimed fake voting had then specifically targeted Congress candidates. “Rahul Gandhi and the party have now meticulously exposed all these irregularities,” he said, urging party leaders to focus on protecting voting rights as a core responsibility.
Kharge also accused the BJP of forming governments in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa, and Manipur without securing a mandate, by intimidating opposition leaders through the Enforcement Directorate, CBI and Income Tax department, and engineering defections.
“The Prime Minister has damaged the country’s economy and caused hardship through demonetisation and other blunders. Now they are making yet another mistake that will harm the nation further. Everyone must identify this electoral theft and fight against it,” he said.
The Congress chief announced that all party MPs would submit a memorandum to the Election Commission on Monday, alleging that it had supported the malpractices and was unfit to continue in its role.
Emphasising unity among opposition parties, Kharge said leaders of the INDIA bloc had been called together to send a joint message. “Only if we stand united can we stop Modi’s fraud. Once our votes are stolen, our existence is threatened. Just as Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India movement on August 9, 1942, we must now fight with the spirit of ‘Do or Die’ to protect our Constitution and democracy,” he added.
