Election Commission Slams Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Fraud’ Claims, Calls ‘Vote Chori’ an Insult to Constitution

Election Commission Slams Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Fraud’ Claims, Calls ‘Vote Chori’ an Insult to Constitution

Since opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi are very weak, Modi and election authorities do not take their allegations seriously, leading to a pattern where “Modi and BJP will keep winning elections at will and Rahul Gandhi or other opposition parties will keep complaining in a rhetorical manner”.

By Rakesh Raman
New Delhi | August 17, 2025

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has forcefully pushed back against allegations of “vote fraud” made by senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, asserting that the use of such “improper words” like “vote chori” amounts to “insulting the Constitution”. Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, speaking at a press conference in New Delhi today (August 17), stated that the Election Commission is being used as a launchpad to target India’s voters for political motives, and reaffirmed that the poll body “stands firmly with the voters”.

The CEC’s strong rebuttal comes amidst claims from opposition parties, including the Congress, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) “cannot win even a single election” without alleged “electronic voting machine (EVM) manipulation, electoral roll frauds, bribes to voters, and threats to voters”. These allegations are often linked to a narrative of widespread public suffering due to “unprecedented poverty, unemployment, corruption, lawlessness, inflation, and religious animosity” in BJP-run states and under the Modi regime.

In a symbolic protest on August 13, 2025, Samajwadi Party (SP) workers in Uttar Pradesh declared Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai the “real MP from Varanasi”. This action followed Rai’s public allegations that the BJP manipulated the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Varanasi to ensure Modi’s victory. Protesters claimed that Prime Minister Modi had actually lost the election by 150,000 votes but was “forcibly declared the winner” by election officials. For these protesters, Ajay Rai, not Narendra Modi, is seen as the true representative of Varanasi.

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Flanked by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the CEC emphasized that for the poll body, “there is no difference between the ruling party and the Opposition”. The Election Commission is resolute in not stepping back from its constitutional responsibility.

However, some opposition leaders have argued that the election officials make “totally misleading or vague statements which cannot be verified,” implying that elections will continue to be held in an “opaque manner”. They also suggest that since opposition leaders like Rahul Gandhi are very weak, Modi and election authorities do not take their allegations seriously, leading to a pattern where “Modi and BJP will keep winning elections at will and Rahul Gandhi or other opposition parties will keep complaining in a rhetorical manner”.

The Election Commission’s response coincided with Mr. Gandhi launching the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar on August 17, aimed at the poll body over issues related to the Special Intensive Revision in the poll-bound state. The CEC explained that this Special Intensive Revision of voter lists was initiated to address political parties’ demands for corrections in the database. He further stated that there is a month-long window to object to the draft voter list and appealed to political parties to flag any errors, reiterating that the “doors of the Election Commission are always open for everyone equally”.

Mr. Kumar highlighted the transparency of the ground-level work, noting that “all voters, political parties and booth-level officers are working transparently on the ground”. He expressed concern that the voices of these representatives may not be reaching their party leadership, or that “ground realities are being ignored in an attempt to spread misinformation”.

Addressing concerns about a machine-readable voter list, Mr. Kumar cited a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that such a list could lead to a “breach of voter privacy,” referencing recent incidents where voters’ photos were released without permission. He questioned whether the poll body should share CCTV footage of any voter.

The CEC also challenged the practicality of vote theft, stating that “more than 1 crore officials, over 10 lakh booth-level agents and over 20 lakh polling agents work for a Lok Sabha election.” He questioned, “Can anyone steal votes in front of so many people and with such a transparent process?”. While allegations of double voting were made, the Election Commission received no proof when requested, with Mr. Kumar concluding that “such allegations scare neither the Election Commission nor any voter”.