The Tamil Nadu Youth Congress recently hosted a compelling ‘explainer’ event in Chennai, delving deeper into Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s impactful ‘Vote Chori’ press conference. During the event, the Youth Congress emphatically stated that the Election Commission of India had ‘murdered democracy,’ intensifying their allegations of electoral malpractice.
At the forefront of the event, Arun Bhasker, the senior vice-president of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress, walked attendees through a detailed demonstration. He vividly illustrated the process by which voter deletion forms could be, and allegedly were, fraudulently completed, highlighting critical security gaps in the electoral system.
During his address, Mr. Arun questioned the Election Commission’s response to Rahul Gandhi’s serious accusations. “The ECI should have challenged him to prove fake logins,” he argued. “Instead of addressing the core issue, they remained silent, even after Mr. Gandhi alleged sophisticated software could instantly manipulate forms. The ECI should have confidently asserted the infallibility of their cybersecurity. Their failure to do so suggests apprehension, perhaps fearing he could indeed expose such vulnerabilities publicly.”
Mr. Arun further revealed what he described as a “significant loophole” on the ECI website. He demonstrated how this vulnerability allows individuals to alter the phone number associated with a voter’s identity card, without the voter’s consent or knowledge, simply by misusing Form 8.
He pointed out that prior to September 22, the ECI website did not require an Aadhaar-linked OTP for phone number changes via Form 8. He concluded by asserting that the ECI, seemingly fearing the growing traction of the ‘Vote Chori’ campaign, quietly implemented an ‘E-sign and Submit’ change on Form 8 without any public announcement.