The BJP released a 70-slide presentation alleging lakhs of “doubtful voters” in six Opposition-held constituencies, including Rae Bareli and Wayanad.
BY PC Bureau
August 13, 2025: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday hit back at Congress over its “vote chori” accusations, alleging that Sonia Gandhi’s name appeared on India’s electoral rolls in 1980—three years before she became an Indian citizen in 1983.
BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya claimed on X that Sonia Gandhi’s early inclusion on the voters’ list was “a glaring violation of electoral law,” and linked it to what he called Rahul Gandhi’s “fondness for regularising ineligible and illegal voters” and opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
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According to Malviya, Sonia Gandhi was added during the 1980 revision of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency rolls, with January 1 as the qualifying date. At that time, he said, she still held Italian citizenship and lived at 1, Safdarjung Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Malviya alleged that she appeared at serial number 388 in polling station 145, alongside Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Maneka Gandhi, in violation of the law requiring Indian citizenship for voter registration.
Turning the Spotlight on Opposition Seats
On Wednesday, the BJP escalated its counterattack, releasing a 70-slide presentation and questioning the authenticity of voters in six key Opposition-held constituencies—Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Diamond Harbour, Kannauj, Mainpuri, and Kolathur. These are represented by Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Abhishek Banerjee, Dimple Yadav, Akhilesh Yadav, and MK Stalin respectively.
“Will all these Opposition leaders resign after what they call ‘vote chori’? They oppose SIR because it will clean up such voter rolls,” Union Minister Anurag Thakur said. He accused the Opposition of relying on a “Ghuspaithiya (infiltrator) vote bank” for political survival, calling Rahul Gandhi “a propaganda king.”
Sonia Gandhi’s tryst with India’s voters’ list is riddled with glaring violations of electoral law. This perhaps explains Rahul Gandhi’s fondness for regularising ineligible and illegal voters, and his opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Her name first appeared… pic.twitter.com/upl1LM8Xhl
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 13, 2025
BJP’s Figures on ‘Doubtful Voters’
The BJP alleged large numbers of questionable entries in the voter lists of these constituencies:
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Wayanad – 93,499 doubtful voters, including 20,438 duplicates, 17,450 with fake addresses, 4,246 in mixed households, and 51,365 from mass additions.
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Rae Bareli – Over 2 lakh doubtful voters, including 19,512 duplicates, 71,977 with fake addresses, and 92,747 from mass additions. The BJP claimed 52,000 fake birth certificates were tied to bogus addresses.
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Diamond Harbour – Nearly 2.6 lakh doubtful voters, with 1.55 lakh fake addresses and around 56,000 from mass additions.
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Kannauj – 2,91,798 doubtful voters.
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Mainpuri – 2,55,914 doubtful voters.
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Kolathur – Around 20,000 doubtful voters.
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Thakur said the BJP’s investigation identified five patterns behind the alleged “Ghuspaithiya vote bank”: duplicate registrations, fake addresses, fake relatives, manipulated ages, and large-scale voter additions.
The claims come in response to Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations of voter roll manipulation in a Bengaluru constituency and purported collusion between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP. The BJP maintains that if “vote chori” exists, it is widespread in Opposition strongholds as well.
