The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday dismissed the allegations of large-scale voter deletion made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling them “incorrect and baseless.” Gandhi had accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of shielding those involved in what he described as a threat to democracy.

In its response, the ECI clarified, “No deletion of any vote can be done online by any member of the public, as misconceived by Rahul Gandhi. No deletion can take place without giving an opportunity of being heard to the affected person.”

The Commission acknowledged that in Karnataka’s Aland Assembly Constituency, there were certain attempts to delete voters in 2023, but these were unsuccessful. “In 2023, certain unsuccessful attempts were made for the deletion of electors in the Aland Assembly Constituency, and an FIR was filed by the authority of ECI itself to investigate the matter. As per records, Aland Assembly Constituency was won by Subhadh Guttedar (BJP) in 2018 and BR Patil (INC) in 2023,” the ECI added.

The clarification comes shortly after Rahul Gandhi held a press conference making several allegations against the Election Commission, claiming software-based voter deletions disproportionately targeted opposition voters.