The Congress party’s increasingly desperate attempt to manufacture a narrative of “vote chori” has suffered a serious blow—not from the BJP or the Election Commission of India (ECI), but from within its own INDIA bloc. Rahul Gandhi’s reckless allegations questioning the integrity of India’s electoral process and casting aspersions on a constitutional body were meant to mobilise political sympathy after repeated electoral setbacks. Instead, they have exposed the hollowness of the Congress’s claims and the growing discomfort among its allies.
The most telling rebuttal came from Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MP Supriya Sule, who categorically distanced her party from the “vote chori” rhetoric. Speaking on the floor of Parliament—the very temple of Indian democracy—Sule made it clear that she does not subscribe to the Congress’ allegations, pointing out that she herself has been elected four times through Electronic Voting Machines under the supervision of the Election Commission. Her statement was not merely personal testimony; it was an institutional endorsement of the electoral system that Congress now seeks to undermine for political convenience.
Equally significant was the clarification from Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah of the National Conference. Abdullah bluntly stated that his party has nothing to do with Congress’ “vote chori” campaign and that it does not believe in such allegations. His remark—“Every party has its own agenda to fight elections. If that is the Congress agenda, what can we do?”—was a polite but unmistakable disavowal. More importantly, he reaffirmed confidence in the conduct of free and fair elections, stating that his party has no complaints with the current electoral process.
These statements strip Rahul Gandhi’s campaign of its moral and political cover. If the very parties that contest elections and win seats through the same system refuse to endorse the allegation, what credibility does the charge retain? The answer is obvious: very little.
That leaves a handful of Congress allies—most notably the DMK, Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Samajwadi Party (SP)—still clinging to the “vote chori” narrative. Their motivations, however, are less about democratic concern and more about political survival.
In Tamil Nadu, the DMK’s conduct offers a revealing backdrop. Its recent demand for the impeachment of a Madurai Bench judge of the Madras High Court over the Kartigai Deepam issue has been widely seen as provocative. The Deepam ritual, performed for centuries, has never disturbed communal harmony. Notably, even sections of the Muslim community have raised no objection, given that the ritual site is well away from places of worship. Yet the DMK chose to stoke controversy, seemingly to posture as a self-proclaimed guardian of minority interests. This pattern of manufactured outrage and selective secularism mirrors its broader political strategy—one that now finds resonance in its support for the Congress’s attack on the Election Commission.
In West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s TMC and in Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party have similar anxieties. Their opposition to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is telling. The SIR is not an extraordinary or partisan exercise; it is a routine constitutional responsibility of the ECI, undertaken periodically to ensure electoral integrity. It includes adding new voters, removing deceased voters, and eliminating duplicate or bogus entries—processes essential to free and fair elections.
Crucially, the SIR has also received judicial scrutiny, with the apex court finding nothing improper in the Commission revisiting voter lists for legitimate reasons. Yet parties with entrenched vote-bank politics view such scrutiny with suspicion, particularly in states bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar, where concerns over illegal immigration have long existed. For parties that rely heavily on consolidated minority voting, the prospect of a cleansed electoral roll is politically unsettling.
The Bihar example is instructive. Despite legal and political hurdles, the Election Commission reportedly identified and removed a significant number of ineligible entries during voter list revisions. The subsequent electoral verdict—an emphatic mandate for the JD(U)-BJP alliance—spoke for itself. Instead of introspection, the Congress and its allies chose conspiracy.
At its core, the “vote chori” campaign is not a defence of democracy but an attempt to pre-emptively delegitimise electoral outcomes. It is a dangerous game. Questioning constitutional institutions without evidence corrodes public trust and weakens the very foundations of democracy. That allies are now stepping back suggests an awareness of this risk—and a reluctance to be dragged into Congress’ spiral of denial.
Democracy thrives on competition, not conspiracy. Losing elections is not theft; it is voter verdict. The sooner the Congress accepts this reality, the healthier Indian democracy will be.
