The Indian Opposition seems to have come to terms with the inevitable—its diminishing electoral relevance. Having failed to defeat the BJP-led NDA in three consecutive general elections and multiple state polls, the Congress-led alliance is now clutching at yet another baseless allegation—claims of ‘duplicate’ or ‘bogus’ voter lists.
This is not the first time the Opposition has resorted to spreading misinformation to undermine India’s electoral process. For years, they peddled the myth that Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were tamperable. Despite the Election Commission’s (EC) repeated clarifications and even an open challenge to test their claims, no Opposition party dared to accept it. Instead, they relied on obscure technocrats to propagate absurd, laughable theories. Now, having failed in their anti-EVM campaign, the Congress and its allies have turned to a fresh conspiracy: the alleged manipulation of voter rolls.
The latest controversy erupted in Maharashtra, where the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a humiliating defeat in the state assembly elections. In a desperate attempt to explain their loss, Congress and its allies—Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)—questioned how 35 lakh new voters could be added in such a short span between the Lok Sabha and assembly polls.
However, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis exposed the hollowness of this claim with hard facts. He pointed out that the very constituencies where voter registrations surged were the ones where Congress candidates emerged victorious. This glaring contradiction dismantled the Opposition’s narrative, revealing yet another instance of misinformation.
Moreover, the Election Commission promptly clarified that these additions were made through transparent online enrollment, a standard electoral process. Yet, Congress and its allies continue their baseless fear-mongering, refusing to acknowledge facts.
Following Maharashtra, the Samajwadi Party (SP) in Uttar Pradesh joined the ‘fake voter list’ chorus after losing crucial bypolls. Akhilesh Yadav, unwilling to accept his party’s electoral failures, blamed ‘bogus’ voters. However, the EC once again set the record straight, proving the claims to be without merit.
Meanwhile, in West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), facing mounting anti-incumbency, has jumped onto the bandwagon. Fearing an electoral backlash in upcoming state polls, the TMC has started crying foul over voter lists. Ironically, when the EC invited all national and regional parties for an open discussion to address concerns, most Opposition parties remained non-committal—further proof that their allegations are nothing more than political gimmicks.
At the heart of this manufactured outrage is the BJP-led NDA’s unwavering push for electoral reforms, including the One Nation, One Election initiative. The Opposition knows that if these reforms materialize, their manipulative politics will become even harder to sustain. Moreover, critical legislative moves like the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and proposed amendments to the Wakf Board Act threaten to disrupt the Congress-led ecosystem of appeasement politics. Adding to their concerns, the proposed Immigration Bill, if passed into law, is likely to have an adverse effect on their minority Muslim vote bank, as a significant portion consists of illegal migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
As India’s political landscape rapidly evolves, the Opposition is running out of issues to attack the government. Their attempts to divide society through fake propaganda are increasingly falling flat. Adding to their woes, the shifting political climate in the United States could further weaken their financial backing. If Donald Trump returns to the White House, foreign funding streams—especially those linked to left-wing billionaire George Soros—are likely to dry up, disrupting the Opposition’s international lobbying efforts.
The Congress and its allies are staring at political irrelevance. In states like Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, which have been ruled by Dravidian parties and the TMC respectively for decades, voter sentiment is shifting. Even Congress-ruled states, plagued by financial mismanagement, may soon see a change in leadership.
The Opposition’s strategy of creating manufactured controversies—be it over EVMs, ‘bogus’ voters, or electoral reforms—is a desperate attempt to remain politically relevant. But with each passing election, their credibility continues to erode. The dream of returning to power through misinformation and deceit is fading fast. India’s electorate is increasingly seeing through the Opposition’s hollow rhetoric, and no amount of fake narratives can reverse their downfall.
