New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has ignited a political firestorm by alleging widespread electoral fraud in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections, claiming that approximately 2.5 million votes were "stolen". Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Gandhi presented what he called the "H Files," purportedly containing evidence of manipulated voter lists, duplicate entries, and other irregularities.
Gandhi asserted that one in eight voters in Haryana were fake, amounting to 12.5% of the electorate. He highlighted several specific issues, including 521,619 duplicate voters, 93,174 invalid voters, and 1,926,351 bulk voters. To illustrate the alleged fraud, Gandhi pointed to an instance where the photograph of a Brazilian model was purportedly used to cast 22 votes across ten different polling booths in Haryana. He questioned the identity of the woman and her connection to the electoral process. Gandhi also claimed that one person had 223 votes across two booths with the same photograph and that there are 124,000 voters with fake photos in the electoral list.
Gandhi accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of colluding with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to "steal" the election. He dubbed the alleged scheme "Operation Sarkar Chori," claiming it was designed to convert a projected Congress victory into a loss. Gandhi further alleged that the ECI was deleting CCTV footage from polling booths and not utilizing software capable of removing duplicate entries. He also raised concerns about voters registered in both Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, including BJP leaders. Gandhi questioned the ECI's explanation for "house number zero" entries, arguing that it was a cover-up for fake registrations. He also pointed to discrepancies between postal ballot results, where Congress led in 73 seats compared to the BJP's 17, and the final election outcome.
The ECI has strongly refuted Gandhi's allegations, calling them "unsubstantiated". Officials questioned why the Congress party's booth-level agents (BLAs) did not raise any objections during the voter list revision process. The ECI stated that the final electoral rolls were published after thorough scrutiny, with over 400,000 claims and objections resolved. They also clarified that "house number zero" classifications refer to areas lacking official house numbers, not necessarily homeless individuals. The ECI noted that only 23 election petitions challenging the Haryana results are currently pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The BJP has also hit back at Gandhi's claims, suggesting they are evidence of the opposition's impending defeat in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections. The Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana has requested Gandhi to submit an affidavit with his claims of 2.5 million "fake" voters.
Gandhi urged young voters to scrutinize the electoral rolls and mobilize against the alleged manipulation. He announced the launch of a campaign to reclaim democratic integrity and called for an independent inquiry into the alleged fraud. The controversy comes as political tensions rise ahead of critical elections, highlighting the importance of ensuring electoral integrity and adherence to due process.
