Rahul Gandhi faces backlash after a Haryana woman denies his “vote-chori” claim used in a Congress video. BJP accuses Gandhi of spreading fake news, while the Congress maintains its stance on alleged voter irregularities in the Haryana Assembly elections.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s fresh “vote-chori” (vote theft) allegation during his press conference on the Haryana Assembly elections has come under scrutiny after the woman whose video clip was used to support the claim denied any wrongdoing by the BJP. The controversy has triggered a fierce political exchange between the Congress and the BJP, with the latter accusing Gandhi of spreading misinformation.
On Wednesday, BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari released a video rebuttal, alleging that Rahul Gandhi had “spread fake news” and “misled the country” by misrepresenting the woman’s statement. “The lady from Haryana shown in Rahul Gandhi’s presentation has denied ‘vote-chori’. Rahul Gandhi lied and used her video wrongly,” Bhandari stated, describing the Congress leader as “anti-democracy” in his social media post.
Earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference in New Delhi where he launched a fierce attack on both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing them of undermining democracy and manipulating the electoral process. Gandhi, who has been leading the Congress’s post-poll campaign in Haryana, alleged large-scale irregularities in voter rolls and claimed that thousands of genuine voters were deprived of their right to vote.
As part of his presentation, Gandhi played a video of a woman identifying herself as Anjali Tyagi, a resident of Malikpur village in the Rai Assembly constituency. In the video, Tyagi said she had voted during the Lok Sabha elections earlier this year but found her name missing from the voter list during the Assembly polls. She stated that she had to reapply for her voter card, which she eventually received in June.
However, hours after Gandhi’s press conference, the BJP released a second video of the same woman, in which she refuted the Congress narrative. “I don’t feel BJP has done vote-chori,” she clarified. “My vote was cut by mistake. There are 140 crore people… vote chori nahi hui, vote cut gaya hoga (The vote was not stolen; it might have been cancelled by mistake).”
Tyagi further dismissed any suggestion of deliberate wrongdoing by the Election Commission, stating, “I don’t think there was any conspiracy. It was a technical issue, and I got my voter card later.”
The incident has quickly evolved into a heated political flashpoint. The BJP has used the woman’s denial to mount a counter-attack, accusing Rahul Gandhi of using misinformation to “delegitimise India’s democratic institutions.” The party claims that Gandhi’s statements are part of a larger “disinformation campaign” aimed at discrediting the electoral process and creating public mistrust in the Election Commission.
“Rahul Gandhi is deliberately spreading falsehoods to create chaos,” Bhandari said. “This shows the Congress’s desperation after facing defeat in the elections. They are trying to undermine democracy for political mileage.”
The Congress, however, has not retracted its allegations. Party leaders argue that the Haryana polls were marred by irregularities and maintain that isolated denials do not negate widespread voter suppression. A Congress spokesperson responded by saying, “Even if one voter faces disenfranchisement, it is a matter of grave concern. The BJP cannot hide behind one video to dismiss the larger issue of faulty voter lists.”
The controversy underscores the escalating post-election battle over the credibility of India’s electoral machinery. While the BJP positions itself as the defender of institutional integrity, the Congress continues to question the transparency of the process, particularly in states where it narrowly lost.
Analysts believe that this episode reflects the deepening mistrust between the ruling party and the opposition. Political commentator Anirudh Mishra noted, “This back-and-forth shows how both parties are using narratives to shape public perception. In the age of viral videos, even one clip can become political ammunition.”
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As the dust settles, the “vote-chori” controversy serves as a reminder of how digital content can influence political discourse. For now, the denial by Anjali Tyagi has given the BJP an upper hand in the narrative war — though the Congress seems determined to keep the issue alive ahead of upcoming state elections.
