Rahul Gandhi alleges ‘Brazilian model’ voted 22 times in Haryana amid massive fraud claims

Dubai: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged a massive voter fraud in the Haryana Assembly elections, claiming that 25 lakh votes — roughly one in every eight — were manipulated or fake, and accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of “hatching a conspiracy” to turn a Congress landslide into defeat.

A day before the first phase of polling in Bihar, Gandhi held a press conference in Delhi, saying his team had “100 per cent proof” of electoral manipulation. “We have the word ‘H’ Files — this is about how an entire state has been stolen,” he said, referring to what he described as evidence of large-scale voter duplication and deletion in Haryana.

Gandhi claimed that Congress candidates had complained about “something going wrong” during the Haryana elections and that exit polls predicting a Congress sweep were later contradicted by the results. According to him, postal ballots in Haryana showed results opposite to the booth votes, a first in the state’s history.

The Times of India reported that Gandhi broke down the alleged “vote theft” into five categories — duplicate voters, invalid addresses, bulk voters, and other irregularities — alleging a total of 25 lakh questionable entries. He cited an example of a woman’s photograph — later found to be of a Brazilian model — appearing 22 times under different names such as Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, and Vimla across 10 polling booths. “Who is this lady? Where does she come from? But she votes 22 times in Haryana,” Gandhi said.

NDTV said the Congress leader presented voter lists showing repeated photographs of women under multiple identities and claimed that similar patterns were found across constituencies. He also alleged that thousands of BJP workers voted in both Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, calling it a “centralised operation.” Gandhi said the Congress lost eight constituencies by razor-thin margins — including one by just 32 votes — adding up to a difference of 22,779 votes statewide.

“The Election Commission has software to detect duplicate entries but refuses to use it,” he alleged. “We asked them to identify voters with the same name and address — they declined. The reason is clear: they are helping the BJP.”

'3.5 lakh votes deleted'

Gandhi also showed a video of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, taken two days before the results, saying the BJP “had made arrangements” to win. “When everyone was saying Congress would sweep, this gentleman is smiling, saying the BJP has made arrangements,” Gandhi said, implying advance knowledge of manipulation.

He further claimed that 3.5 lakh names were deleted from Haryana’s voter rolls and cited voters from Bihar who alleged their names had also been removed from the lists.

The Election Commission, reacting to Gandhi’s remarks, questioned what Congress polling agents were doing on voting day. A senior EC source told NDTV that agents are expected to object if they suspect fake or repeat voters. The source also asked how Gandhi could be certain that all “fake voters” voted for the BJP, noting that duplication issues are addressed during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed Gandhi’s claims as “fake issues.” “Polling is happening in Bihar, yet he’s telling stories about Haryana,” Rijiju said. “They say they were winning in exit polls — but exit polls often differ from real results. We never accuse the Election Commission when the Opposition wins.”

Gandhi, however, maintained that the Congress would pursue the matter further. “We are questioning the Election Commission and the democratic process of India,” he said. “A plan was put in motion to convert the Congress’s victory into a loss — and we have the proof.”

-- With IANS & ANI inputs