Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Monday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of "colluding" with the ruling party and said instead of addressing the "vote theft" claims made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, it tried to threaten the Opposition.

The ECI's credibility will remain in doubt until it honestly fulfilled its duty of safeguarding every citizen's vote, he said. "The Election Commission of India (ECI) finally spoke - not out of duty, but because the Congress, the INDIA Alliance, the civil society, and even the Supreme Court forced it to.