Rahul Gandhi's Foreign Visit Hits 'Vote Chori' Campaign BJP and Congress Trade Barbs

New Delhi: The Congress party's campaign over alleged discrepancies in voter lists, which the opposition has been calling the 'Vote Chori' issue, seems to have lost some momentum over the last few days. The pause in the campaign has coincided with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi's private visit abroad.

Rahul Gandhi had wrapped up his public program in Goa on October 19 and then left for Hanoi in Vietnam for a four-day personal visit. According to party sources, it was a private trip and no official itinerary was shared.

For the past two weeks, Gandhi was at the forefront of the campaign. He had raised questions over voter list data in Mahadevapura assembly segment in Karnataka and had participated in two protest marches in Delhi related to the Election Commission's functioning, during which he was briefly detained by Delhi Police. With his absence, the on-ground outreach of the campaign has slowed down.

The BJP was quick to react to his foreign visit.

Addressing a press conference on October 23, BJP Rajya Sabha MP and national spokesperson Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi questioned the timing of the visit. He said that Rahul Gandhi often travels abroad and the details of his meetings are not made public, which raises questions.

BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia, speaking on October 22, launched a sharp attack on the Congress. He alleged that the Congress was trying to create political disturbance in the name of a protest planned for November 1 at Ramlila Maidan. Citing a report published in international media, he questioned the purpose of the Vietnam visit and claimed that opposition leaders had met certain international groups in the past, after which constitutional institutions were being targeted. The Congress has rejected these allegations and termed them politically motivated.

When asked about the foreign trip, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that he was not aware of the travel plans and that questions about someone's personal travel should not be directed at him.

Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit defended Gandhi and said that leaders from all parties travel abroad for personal or official reasons and there was nothing unusual about it.

The focus now shifts to November 1. The INDIA bloc is planning a large public meeting at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi to raise the issue of Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and other election-related matters. Congress leaders say the campaign will gain pace again once Rahul Gandhi returns to Delhi, and the party is looking to highlight the issue prominently in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.

For the moment, the four-day break has definitely slowed down what was being projected as the opposition's most aggressive campaign in recent months.