Vote Chori

The BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of misrepresenting the INDIA bloc’s meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, following the Opposition’s allegations of voter-list irregularities and “vote chori.” BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi described Gandhi’s account as politically motivated, intensifying the political dispute over electoral transparency.

INDIA bloc leaders staged a peaceful protest at Rajghat in New Delhi on October 8, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral-roll irregularities. The demonstration followed a lunch meeting hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, with Opposition leaders pledging to continue their campaign.

The BJP accused Congress and Rahul Gandhi of making misleading “vote chori” allegations while opposing voter-roll verification. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cited Congress leaders’ past concerns about duplicate voters and questioned the party’s opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Congress’s campaign shifts its SIR criticism from political statements to booth-level mobilisation, with the party planning to identify affected voters and assist eligible people with re-enrolment. The use of “vote rakshaks” and household outreach indicates an effort to turn the electoral-roll dispute into a grassroots campaign. The controversy remains politically contested: Congress alleges large-scale voter deletions and demands accountability from the Election Commission, while the poll panel maintains that the SIR process follows the applicable legal and statutory framework. The scale and organisation of the campaign could keep electoral-roll transparency and voter registration at the centre of the Opposition’s political agenda.