New Delhi – The Congress party held a major rally at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital on Sunday, December 14, 2025, to protest alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) and to hold the government and the Election Commission accountable for allegedly rigging elections. The rally, themed "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod" (Vote Thief, Vacate the Throne), saw top Congress leaders converging to address thousands of supporters.
The entire top leadership, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, addressed the gathering. Senior leaders, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.C. Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Sachin Pilot, and Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, also participated, while former Congress President Sonia Gandhi was present.
Rahul Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the RSS, asserting that he would stand with "satya" (truth) and remove the Narendra Modi-led government from power. He accused the ruling party of misusing its authority, saying, "They have satta (power), and they indulge in vote chori". Gandhi alleged that democratic institutions were being undermined and claimed that elections were being manipulated to favor the BJP. He specifically named Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, alleging they were "working for the BJP". Gandhi claimed the BJP distributed Rs 10,000 during elections without facing any action from the Election Commission.
Congress has been raising concerns about alleged irregularities in the electoral process for months. Rahul Gandhi has previously held press conferences presenting what he called “evidence of vote chori” in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Haryana. He accused the ECI of presiding over inflated voter rolls and permitting fake votes, charges the Commission has dismissed as “incorrect and baseless”.
Mallikarjun Kharge, addressing the rally, stated that the BJP people are "gaddar" (traitors) and "dramebaaz" (drama queens) and need to be removed from power. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the conduct of elections, alleging systematic erosion of democratic norms and expressing suspicion at every step of the electoral process.
The BJP has dismissed the Congress's claims, alleging that the rally was an attempt to protect infiltrators from being removed from the electoral rolls and accusing the Congress of misleading people and defaming constitutional institutions. BJP MLA Balmukund Acharya also criticized the rally.
The rally marks the Congress's most significant push on its “vote chori” campaign. The party has mobilized leaders across states, coordinating turnout from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Punjab, and beyond. Congress leaders view the issue as central to democracy and intend to keep the spotlight on alleged “electoral fraud”. The party hopes to transform the slogan “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” into a mass movement. Upcoming elections in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu are seen as crucial tests of the campaign's resonance.
