Delhi: In a dramatic escalation of political confrontation ahead of the 2025 election season, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday declared that he is heading to Delhi to push forward what he called a nationwide “Vote Chori (vote theft) campaign.” The senior Congress leader accused the Election Commission of acting as an extension of the ruling party at the Centre and claimed that the opposition must “expose the truth before the nation.”
Speaking to reporters before leaving for the airport, Shivakumar said, “I am going to Delhi for the vote chori campaign. Rahul Gandhi started this campaign in Karnataka in 2023 itself. We are fighting against the Election Commission, which has become the tool of a political party. This is what we want to expose and we are going to Delhi for that.”
According to Shivakumar, the Congress party has collected an extraordinary 1.42 crore signatures from citizens across Karnataka, alleging irregularities, manipulation of electoral rolls, and misuse of institutions to influence elections. He said the party plans to submit this massive set of signatures to national authorities as evidence of “growing public anger.”
The Deputy Chief Minister added that the campaign will now be taken beyond Karnataka. “The fight is no longer limited to one state. People across the country must know what is happening behind the scenes. This is not just Congress’ fight — this is India’s fight to protect democracy and protect the sanctity of the ballot.”
