Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President J.P. Nadda has launched a sharp critique against Rahul Gandhi, leader of the opposition, amidst allegations of voter list manipulation in Bihar. Nadda shared a video that he claims exposes a "scripted conversation" during Gandhi's ongoing 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'. This comes in the wake of Gandhi's accusations concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, where he alleges attempts are being made to unfairly delete and add voters.
Gandhi's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' is a 1,300 km march across more than 20 districts in Bihar, set to conclude in Patna on September 1. The purpose of the Yatra is to protest the Election Commission's (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar, which Gandhi and other opposition leaders have decried as a means of "vote chori" or vote theft. Gandhi has alleged a partnership between the EC and the BJP, claiming that the SIR is being used to manipulate voter lists in the poll-bound state. He has stated that the votes of people who voted in the last four-five elections were also stolen in Bihar.
The video shared by Nadda features a woman complaining about the names of six of her family members being deleted from the EC's special intensive revision (SIR) draft roll. Later in the video, the woman claims that she was asked to make those claims at the Yatra. The video caption stated, "Rahul Gandhi's Vote Chori is turning into a PR Disaster. First, EC gave him a 7-day ultimatum with all facts. Now, people are exposing him left & right: “It was scripted PR, we said it but our names are in the voters list” Another apology from Rahul is loading".
Nadda's post on X (formerly Twitter) mocks Gandhi's claims, suggesting they are a "scripted PR" stunt. This is not the first time Nadda has attacked Gandhi's claims of election rigging. In June, Nadda accused Gandhi of "cooking up bizarre conspiracies" after losing a series of elections, following Gandhi's claims that the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections were a "blueprint for rigging democracy". Nadda outlined a five-step process Gandhi allegedly follows, including cooking up conspiracies, ignoring facts, defaming institutions, and peddling lies.
The Election Commission has strongly refuted Gandhi's allegations. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has countered Gandhi's "vote chori" allegations, explaining how issues like thousands of voters having zero as house numbers and duplication in voter lists do not necessarily indicate fraud. The CEC challenged Gandhi to submit an affidavit on his allegations within seven days or "apologize to the nation". Kumar stated that if no declaration under oath is given within 7 days, claims will be considered baseless and invalid. The ECI has also stated that using "improper words" such as "vote chori" amounts to insulting the Constitution.
Several other BJP leaders have also criticized Gandhi's claims. BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya pointed to an apology from a psephologist who shared incorrect voter data related to the Maharashtra elections, stating, "The very institution whose data Rahul Gandhi leaned on to defame the voters of Maharashtra has now admitted that its figures were wrong". Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur has also stated that Rahul Gandhi should answer what exactly he is afraid of and that it is Rahul Gandhi's old habit to make allegations and then run away.
Gandhi has remained firm on his claims, demanding a response from the ECI and launching a direct attack on CEC Kumar and election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. He warned them of action if the INDIA bloc forms the government, alleging they have stolen votes from the whole country. He has also said that he had been asked to submit an affidavit after his press conference “exposing vote chori”, but no such demand was made from BJP leaders, who had made similar claims.
