Election Commission Rebuts Rahul Gandhi’s Allegations of Massive Voter Fraud in Haryana, No Formal Complaints Filed by Congress

Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi reignited the debate over electoral integrity, alleging widespread voter fraud in Haryana’s 2024 assembly elections. At a press conference on November 5, Gandhi claimed that 25 lakh fake voters were added to the electoral rolls under a “centralized operation,” citing a striking example where the image of a Brazilian model was allegedly used for 22 different voter entries across 10 booths.

Rahul Gandhi contended that systematic rigging, “Operation Sarkar Chori,” had undermined Congress’s prospects, despite opinion polls predicting a win. He claimed irregularities in voter rolls, including duplicate and nonexistent voters, and displayed evidence of stock photos repeatedly appearing in official lists.

However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) strongly refuted the allegations, stating that the Congress party had filed no petitions or objections to the rolls either during the Summary Revision process or after results were declared. Data from Haryana’s Chief Electoral Officer showed that, although over four lakh claims and objections were processed during revision, no formal appeal was submitted by Congress candidates or polling agents regarding duplicate or fake voters.

ECI officials highlighted that only 22 election petitions remain pending in the High Court for Haryana’s 90 seats. They emphasized existing procedures—including the SIR (Systematic Information Revision) process and software to detect duplicate entries—which had removed many ineligible voters. The Commission also noted that allegations of vote duplication favoring BJP were contradicted by official records, which indicated votes were split between parties, including Congress.

The ECI challenged the Congress party’s polling agents for not raising objections at polling stations concerning suspected fraudulent voters and asked why no formal complaints or appeals were filed during the roll revision. Officials also clarified that certain roll entries marked as ‘House Number Zero’ referred to areas without municipal assignment, refuting Gandhi’s claim about homeless voters.

These explosive claims—raised less than a day before the Bihar election’s first phase—sparked controversy, but the Election Commission remains steadfast, backed by procedural transparency and official data to support the integrity of the election process.

The episode reflects ongoing tensions surrounding India’s electoral practices, with calls from all sides for robust scrutiny and independent investigation into alleged discrepancies to maintain public trust in the democratic process.​