BJP President Amit Shah on Wednesday accused the Congress of using fake voter IDs to create fictitious voters and rig the Karnataka polls and urged the Election Commission (EC) to ensure free and fair polling in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and other parts of the state.

A day after the Commission recovered 9,746 voter ID cards from an apartment in Bengaluru’s Jalahalli area of Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly constituency, Shah hit out at the Congress, saying their anti-democratic ways to succeed in elections would be thwarted.

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“Congress party should be ashamed of themselves! Everything about their party is fake – their tears for the poor, their claims of development, their commitment to social justice. Now, the Congress is using fake voter IDs to create fictitious voters and rig the 2018 Karnataka polls,” he said in a series of tweets.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief said that the Congress had read the writing on the wall that their reign of corruption and oppression was about to end in Karnataka.

“That is why they are turning to unethical and anti-democratic ways to succeed. However, their attempts will be thwarted and the power of the people will win,” he said.

Appealing to “all democracy loving Indians” to rise to the occasion and speak up against the fraudulent and anti-democratic means adopted allegedly by the Congress just for the sake of power, he said: “Our vigilance will ensure our future generations breathe the air of freedom and democracy.”

Demanding free and fair polling in Rajarajeshwari Nagar and other parts of the state, he said: “It is in the best interests of our democratic traditions that the EC ensures fair polling. The hopes and aspirations of the people of Karnataka can’t be held hostage to the machinations of the Congress.”

The state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar late on Tuesday night said 9,746 voter cards had been seized from a flat in the constituency.

“In a surprise visit to a flat in Jalahalli locality, nearly 9,746 voter ID cards were found. Five laptops and one printer was also found in the flat,” Kumar said.

Over a lakh slips resembling acknowledgement slips used for adding names to the electoral rolls were also found.

Voting in 223 of the 225 assembly constituencies of the state will be held on May 12 and the votes counted on May 15.

While the election to the Jayanagar seat in south Bengaluru has been put off following the death of BJP candidate B.N. Vijaya Kumar on May 4, one member is nominated in the lower House.