Karnataka cops begin probing ‘electoral fraud’ allegations in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura Assembly constituency

Bengaluru: Karnataka police have launched an investigation after registering a case of electoral fraud based on allegations that a large number of fake voters were added to the Mahadevapura Assembly Constituency voter list ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. They launched an investigation after filing an FIR, police said on Saturday.

The FIR has been booked under Section 129 of the Representation of the People Act. The police have also booked the case under various Sections of BNS Act. The FIR names unknown persons including an unnamed political party, officials and private individuals as accused persons.

According to the FIR, the complaint was filed by 39-year-old Y. Vinoda, a resident of Nallurhalli in Bengaluru, alleging that officials and private individuals had fraudulently added fake names to the constituency’s voter list.

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Vinoda alleged that a significant number of fake voters were added to the Mahadevapura voter list under the Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which she claimed had undermined the public mandate.

She further alleged that such large-scale fraud would not have been possible without the active involvement of certain government officials, members of the political party that allegedly benefited from it, and other private individuals.

In her complaint, Vinoda also alleged that a significant number of fake voters were added to the Mahadevapura electoral list during the 2024 polls under the Bengaluru Central Parliamentary Constituency. She stated that the large-scale manipulation of the rolls appeared to have undermined the democratic mandate of the electorate.

Police have begun investigating the allegations and are in the process of identifying those suspected of involvement in the alleged electoral malpractice.

The FIR was filed by the Whitefield police on November 19. Vinoda is Congress party President of the Marathalli Block in Bengaluru. She claimed that the information in this regard is in public domain and maintained that the integrity of the process of election had been compromised.

Charging the Election Commission with colluding with the BJP to “steal seats and elections” in the country, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on August 8, 2025 in Bengaluru had asked the State government to investigate the “vote fraud” in the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency under the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency and take action against officials involved.