Endorsing the views of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi that elections were being “stolen” in the country and that the Congress had understood the modus operandi of “vote theft” by studying a Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday alleged that the Congress party’s setback in the LS polls in Karnataka was owing to the “manipulation by BJP through its misuse of the Election Commission.”

The Chief Minister said the Congress leaders of the State were currently holding discussions with Mr. Rahul Gandhi and AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge to decide the necessary course of action with respect to the alleged electoral fraud in Karnataka.