Row Over ‘Vote Theft’ Sparks Political Storm in India
A major political dispute has erupted in India after opposition parties accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of large-scale irregularities in the 2024 general election — claims the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the ECI firmly deny.
On Tuesday, parliament was adjourned as opposition MPs demanded a debate on what Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called «vote theft.» A day earlier, Gandhi and dozens of opposition figures were briefly detained in Delhi while marching to the ECI’s headquarters.
«Widespread voter manipulation» took place during the election, Gandhi alleged on 7 August, citing constituency-level data he says came from the electoral body itself. He pointed to Mahadevapura in Bangalore Central, claiming more than 100,000 entries were manipulated, including duplicate names, invalid addresses, and dozens of voters registered at the same location. Gandhi also accused the ECI of deleting CCTV footage from polling booths.
The Congress leader claimed his party lost at least 48 seats due to such irregularities, insisting, «One man, one vote is the basic principle — and it has been violated.»
He has demanded that the ECI release digital voter rolls for public auditing.
The ECI dismissed the accusations as «absurd» and asked Gandhi to either submit a sworn declaration or apologise. BJP leaders have also condemned the claims, with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan calling the opposition’s stance «extremely worrying and dangerous for democracy.»
The row comes amid controversy over a Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls in Bihar, ahead of state elections in November. The month-long drive removed 6.5 mln names, which the ECI says were duplicates, deceased voters, or people who had migrated. Critics argue the process was rushed and has disenfranchised migrants and minorities.
India’s Supreme Court is reviewing petitions over the Bihar purge, warning it will «step in immediately» if mass voter exclusion is proven. Gandhi has since escalated his claims, saying manipulation is happening «at a national level and systematically,» even citing a 124-year-old listed in Bihar’s draft rolls.
With nearly a billion registered voters, the dispute strikes at the heart of the world’s largest democracy and raises fresh questions about trust in its electoral process.
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