‘Operation Sarkar Chori’: Vote chori in Haryana? EC responds to Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has alleged widespread electoral malpractice in Haryana, claiming that the 2024 Assembly election results were manipulated to overturn a predicted Congress victory.

While Gandhi emphasised the scale of the alleged malpractice, the Election Commission responded by questioning the role of Congress booth agents in monitoring polling. Authorities suggested that errors or irregularities should have been raised at the time of voting.

Speaking at a press conference, Gandhi presented what he described as evidence of large-scale vote irregularities, including an instance of a single woman allegedly casting 22 votes across 10 different polling booths.

According to IANS, the Election Commission of India (ECI) responded to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations regarding the electoral rolls in Haryana. The ECI noted that there were no appeals filed against the voter lists in the state and that only 22 election petitions are currently pending in the High Court across 90 Assembly constituencies. The Commission questioned the role of Congress polling and booth-level agents, whose responsibility is to flag discrepancies during voter list revisions and polling. It also asked why the Congress did not raise objections or file appeals to address potential duplicate or multiple voter entries. The ECI stated that Gandhi’s claims lack evidence, adding that any such duplicates, if they existed, could potentially benefit any political party.

He termed the alleged scheme “Operation Sarkar Chori” (Operation Government Theft), asserting that over 25 lakh votes were affected, including more than 5 lakh duplicate entries. Gandhi said such irregularities point to systemic issues at both the state and national level, raising serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process.

“The exit polls had clearly indicated a Congress win, yet the reported outcomes suggest manipulation,” Gandhi said. He further claimed that one in every eight votes in Haryana could be fraudulent. He also referenced multiple complaints received from Congress candidates across constituencies, alleging discrepancies in both voting and counting processes.

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During the press event, Gandhi displayed voter ID images showing repeated use of the same photograph under different names and EPIC numbers, citing the case of a woman, referred to as a “Brazilian model,” as evidence of multiple voting. According to his figures, the total count of potentially fraudulent votes included 5.21 lakh duplicate voters, 93,174 invalid entries, and 19.26 lakh bulk votes.

Gandhi called for a full investigation by the Election Commission and other relevant authorities, urging measures to ensure transparency and protect democratic processes. He highlighted that safeguarding electoral integrity is critical to maintaining public trust in India’s democratic system.