Alright, after multiple jabs at BJP, Union government, its agencies and everyone who doesn’t agree with their MO or agenda, INC has been back with a theory. An interesting allegation it seems to be, that INC would have won at least 70 odd seats in General Assembly Election 2024, ‘if and only if the election was fair and without vote-theft’. Hmmm, you read it right. ‘Vote chori’ is the newest gem allegation LOP Shri Rahul Gandhi has taken out of his thinking hat, to blame Election Commission. The said seats were lost by less than 50,000 seats.
Alleged irregularities
People meet to introspect and think of better solutions, better MOs to work and get their favourable results. Congress leaders met apparently to come out with this ultra-new idea of blaming the Election Commission along with BJP, of course. In a recent party gathering with top leaders such as Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Gandhi claimed that these close-margin defeats were fishy and that the party is going ahead to investigate if the BJP win in these constituencies was real. He identified one specific “module” of irregularities allegedly employed in the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency that possibly affected outcomes across these 70 seats.
आपके वोट की चोरी…
आपके अधिकार की चोरी, आपके पहचान की चोरी है!#VoteChori pic.twitter.com/zfqsISGrym— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 13, 2025
Also Read | Rahul Gandhi Flags ‘Vote Chori’ in Bangalore Central: EC Demands Oath
‘Machine-readable voter rolls needed’
Rahul Gandhi emphasised the need for machine-readable voter rolls to prevent such fraudulent activities. The below tweet is another example of the questions raised by the Congress.
वाराणसी में चुनाव आयोग का एक और चमत्कार देखिए!
मतदाता सूची में एक ही व्यक्ति ‘राजकमल दास’ के नाम पर 50 बेटों का रिकॉर्ड दर्ज है!
सबसे छोटा बेटा राघवेन्द्र- उम्र 28 साल,
और सबसे बड़ा बेटा बनवारी दास- उम्र 72 साल!क्या चुनाव आयोग इस गड़बड़ी को भी सिर्फ त्रुटि कहकर टाल देगा या… pic.twitter.com/jVmucDKUOe
— UP Congress (@INCUttarPradesh) August 12, 2025
Also Read | Rahul Gandhi, Opposition Leaders Arrested During Massive Protest Against Election Commission | Watch
Addition to the Yatra series
The Opposition is organizing a “Vote Adhikar Yatra” from August 17, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, to construct the narrative that the voting right is under attack because of these so-called malpractices.
Also Read | 300 Opposition MPs to March to EC Over ‘Vote Chori’ — No Permission, No Backing Down
If at all reason, logic and facts would..
While Rahul Gandhi specifically raises the loss of 70 seats by less than 50,000 votes margin, information shows that BJP also lost 48 seats by such a margin, and Congress lost 28 seats by less than 50,000 votes. Critics like Congress leader Sachin Pilot have warned the party against projecting losses entirely due to vote fraud, emphasising the need to accept electoral failure rather than laying blame on irregularities. Finding reasons to justify losses seems to be working rather than trying to win by righting whatever went wrong, which is apparently nothing for the Opposition.
ECI refutes the allegations
The electoral controversy is an indication of increasing tension between the Congress-led Opposition and the Election Commission, with both accusing each other of compromising the democratic election process. The poll body repeatedly rejected claims of large-scale voter fraud as misleading. The Election Commission documented its transparency measures and dismissed the opposition’s accusations, stating these claims risk undermining democratic processes. The ECI keeps rebutting the claims and even challenges to prove the allegations true, at times. Following tweet illustrates how ECI replies to the allegations:
संविधान के अनुच्छेद 324 के प्रावधानों के अनुसार लोकसभा एवं विधानसभा की निर्वाचक नामावली तैयार करने का कार्य भारत निर्वाचन आयोग करता है तथा अनुच्छेद 243 में पंचायतों के लिए एवं अनुच्छेद 243 य क में नगर निकायों के लिए निर्वाचक नामावली तैयार करने का कार्य राज्य निर्वाचन आयोग करता है… https://t.co/gAKovtSJTy
— CEO UP (@ceoup) August 12, 2025
The continuous probes and demonstrations are an indication of increasingly intensifying political fights over the sanctity of India’s electoral process in the run-up to future polls.
In a nutshell, Congress knows the ‘Constitution’ jab isn’t going to work for them as effectively, the EVM tampering has become obsolete, so such allegations seem to keep them relevant in the game. Upcoming Bihar Elections and SIR have already raised their eye-brows to the defensive stance rather than being favourites in the game.
