New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday launched a counterattack against Congress over allegations of electoral malpractice, questioning the timing of former party president Sonia Gandhi’s inclusion in the voter list and accusing opposition leaders of benefiting from irregularities in voter rolls.
Addressing a press conference, Union Minister Anurag Thakur alleged that some Congress and opposition leaders won elections with the help of “ghuspaithi” (infiltrator) voters. He accused the Congress of opposing the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar to protect its “vote bank” and criticised what he described as “appeasement politics.”
Thakur cited alleged cases of duplicate voters, fake addresses, manipulated ages, and mass voting in constituencies such as Raebareli, represented by Rahul Gandhi; Diamond Harbour, represented by Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee; and Kannauj, represented by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Thakur’s remarks echoed those of BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya, who had earlier alleged that Sonia Gandhi’s name was added to the electoral rolls in 1980, three years before she became an Indian citizen, while she still held Italian citizenship. He said her name appeared in the rolls of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency at 1, Safdarjung Road, then the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, alongside other members of the Gandhi family.
Malviya alleged that the entry violated electoral laws, which require Indian citizenship for voter registration, and that her name was deleted in 1982 before reappearing in 1983. “If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?” he wrote on social media platform X.
The exchange comes after Rahul Gandhi, on August 7, accused the Election Commission of “vote chori” (stealing votes) and claimed to have “proof” of large-scale irregularities. Citing examples from states such as Maharashtra and Karnataka, he alleged the existence of “one crore mystery voters,” destruction of CCTV footage, and refusal by the poll body to share voter-related data.
The Election Commission has not issued an official response to the latest allegations from either side.
Thakur also alleged that Congress, along with the CPI, defeated B.R. Ambedkar in the 1952 general election through electoral malpractice.
“If we start from 1952, Congress and CPI together defeated Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, a constitution maker and a saint-like leader, in the election. Congress laid the foundation of electoral corruption in the very first election of 1952,” he said.
“Check the records: 74,333 votes were rejected, while Ambedkar ji lost by just 14,561 votes. Congress ensured that a constitution maker, a Dalit leader, was eliminated in the very first election. Imagine, the one who created the Constitution was defeated by the Congress family through electoral fraud,” he alleged.
Thakur claimed that Rahul Gandhi and his family have a history of questioning the Election Commission whenever they lose elections.
“This family and party have had a tradition from the beginning that if you lose an election, you raise questions about the Election Commission, the voters, or its functioning. Indira Gandhi had said, ‘Voters are a bunch of fools.’ When Rajiv Gandhi lost, he blamed the ballot paper. Rahul Gandhi’s father said elections should be conducted with voting machines, and now Rahul Gandhi says they should be conducted with ballot papers,” Thakur said.
He also criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for opposing a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in her state.
“In 2005, in the Lok Sabha, she threw documents claiming that the voter list included illegal Bangladeshi migrants. Now, when we are trying to clean that mess, she is creating hurdles. Was she lying then or is she lying now?” he asked.
Thakur alleged that, anticipating defeat in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, the Congress is already making “false allegations” in coordination with other Opposition parties.
“If there is a record of losing elections 90 times under someone’s leadership, then it is under Rahul Gandhi. Even within the party, questions are raised about his leadership,” he said.
“When he loses, he blames EVMs or the voters. Congress has said EVMs are rigged for the BJP, then demanded a return to ballot papers, then claimed EVMs can be hacked remotely. After every defeat, Congress kept finding new excuses instead of introspecting, repeatedly blaming EVMs, the Election Commission, and constitutional institutions. Seeing that it is losing the Bihar elections, Congress is once again making false allegations in connivance with Opposition parties,” Thakur alleged.
