The former Madhya Pradesh Minister and member of Congress Working Committee Kamaleshwar Patel has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of undermining democracy and the Constitution through vote chori (vote theft).

Addressing a press conference along with Congress leaders in Hubballi on Monday, Mr. Patel said that the BJP has formed governments in several States through electoral malpractice and accused Mr. Kumar of acting as an agent of the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

He cited the deletion of 68 lakh names from the electoral rolls in Bihar and raised a concern over largescale deletions of voters in West Bengal and the irregularities in Maharashtra, including multiple voters being registered under a same address.

Referring to a report in The Hindu on over 60,000 Form 7 applications seeking the deletion of names from Karnataka’s electoral rolls filed by election officials themselves, Mr. Patel said that as per the Registration of Electors Rules 1960, mentioning the reason for deletion is mandatory.

However, no specific reason has been given in the forms submitted by the election officials, indicating the kind of malpractice being done under the guise of SIR.

Mr. Patel also questioned the amendment to Form 6, saying that it has been made without parliamentary approval.

He said that the Congress and the INDI Alliance partners have launched a Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao campaign to protect democracy and the Constitution and oppose electoral irregularities. The campaign will continue until Mr. Kumar, Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah resign, he said.

As part of the month-long campaign, a rally will be held in Delhi on November 1. The campaign will be conducted at various levels, with the first phase focusing on raising awareness and the second marking Democracy Day, he said.

Mr. Patel also said that people are being divided in the name of religion and nationalism while corporate interests are being favoured.

He called for safeguards to protect voter rights, raised concerns over electronic voting machines (EVMs) and demanded that the elections should be held using ballot papers.

KPCC district unit presidents Sadanand Danganavar and Chandrashekhar Juttal, MLC F.H. Jakkappanavar, the former MLC Mohan Limbikai, the former MLA M.S. Akki and others were present.