Who Guards Democracy When the Ballot is Compromised? India's LoP Rahul Gandhi Demands Answers

The political climate in India has further polarised just ahead of voting in Bihar, as Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India) and prominent Indian politician Rahul Gandhi accused the ruling BJP of orchestrating what he called “one of the biggest electoral frauds in Indian democratic history.” 

Citing what his party calls “H Files” -- a cache of alleged evidence -- Rahul Gandhi claimed that 25 lakh fake votes swung the 2024 Haryana Assembly election, which the BJP narrowly won.

Image from LoP Rahul Gandhi's powerful presentation. Via: INC India

In an extended presentation in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi alleged that voter rolls were manipulated at scale. He cited examples of duplicate voter IDs, including 22 instances of a Brazilian model’s photo being used under different names like “Sweety” and “Seema,” and a separate case of one woman’s face appearing on 223 voter IDs across polling booths. 

“This isn’t random -- it’s industrialised vote theft,” Rahul Gandhi said, directly accusing the Election Commission of colluding with Prime Minister Modi’s government.

LIVE: Special press briefing by LoP Shri @RahulGandhi | Vote Chori - The H Files | AICC HQ, New Delhi. https://t.co/at2SahEnBt

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 5, 2025

“This is a centralised operation. If the voter list is a lie, then the election is a lie,” Rahul Gandhi declared. He claimed Congress lost eight seats by slim margins totalling just 22,779 votes -- margins which could have been decisively altered by fraudulent ballots. 

The Congress party alleges 1.24 lakh fake photo entries, 5.2 lakh duplicates, and over 19 lakh “bulk voters” in Haryana. “This was not electioneering -- it was ‘Operation Sarkar Chori,’” he said.

बिहार के जमुई ज़िले के धर्मपुर गांव के कुछ लोगों से आज दुनिया को रूबरू करवाया - उनके साथ जो हो रहा है, वह लोकतंत्र के लिए सबसे दुखद और शर्मनाक त्रासदी है।

फॉर्म और ज़रूरी दस्तावेज़ जमा करने के बावजूद, गांव के कई लोगों के नाम बिना किसी सूचना या कारण के मतदाता सूची से हटा दिए गए।… pic.twitter.com/B0u31PYsn7

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 5, 2025

Adding fuel to his accusations, Rahul Gandhi played a video clip of Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini -- recorded before vote counting -- claiming that “arrangements have been made” for the BJP's win. 

“What kind of arrangements? And how did he know the outcome before counting began?” he asked.

The BJP immediately hit back. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed Gandhi’s claims as theatrics, quipping, “Why doesn’t his hydrogen bomb ever explode?” Rijiju accused Gandhi of provoking youth and collaborating with “anti-India forces.” 

He also cited statements by senior Congress leaders themselves acknowledging internal sabotage in Haryana.

Rahul Gandhi ji Uncovers Massive Vote Chori In The Latest H Files 👇 pic.twitter.com/hXE6GlLoQ5

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 5, 2025

Sources within the Election Commission pushed back, asking why Congress polling agents didn’t object on voting day, and questioned how Gandhi could be certain that alleged fake voters supported the BJP. 

“If your own leaders admit they lost due to internal disunity, how credible are these claims?” Rijiju asked.

Rahul Gandhi’s political messaging, however, was aimed far beyond electoral arithmetic. “I call upon India’s Gen-Z -- this democracy belongs to you,” he said. 

“You must defend it with satya and ahimsa.” With the first phase of Bihar elections hours away, the timing of this intervention is unlikely to be viewed as coincidental.

हरियाणा में चोरी की सरकार है pic.twitter.com/xHvRQNQZpn

— Congress (@INCIndia) November 5, 2025

In any democracy, the sanctity of the electoral process is the very foundation upon which the legitimacy of governance stands. The concerns raised by the Leader of the Opposition, regardless of their political origin, speak to a deeper anxiety that transcends partisan lines.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐏 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢 @𝐑𝐚𝐡𝐮𝐥𝐆𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐢 ’𝐬 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, ‘𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬’, 𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢. pic.twitter.com/UdfohpMtI5

— INC TV (@INC_Television) November 5, 2025

What happens when citizens begin to question the authenticity of the vote? When accusations of systemic manipulation, duplication, and fraudulent practices enter the public discourse as assertions by senior national leaders, it demands much more than perfunctory dismissal. 

Democracies thrive on the perception that they are indeed free and fair. If voter rolls are allegedly populated with fictitious identities, or electoral outcomes appear sharply divorced from exit polls and ground feedback, it becomes imperative for institutions--especially those tasked with safeguarding democracy--to respond transparently, not defensively. 

वोट चोरी से हरियाणा में कांग्रेस की सरकार चोरी की गई है - और इसका ब्लैक एंड व्हाइट सबूत आपके सामने हैं।

- ब्राज़ील की एक मॉडल हरियाणा की वोटर लिस्ट में 10 बूथों पर 22 वोट - अलग-अलग नाम से
- एक ही फोटो के साथ 223 वोट एक बूथ में - नाम हर बार नया
- एक ही घर में 501 वोटर दर्ज - वो… pic.twitter.com/mCfNLc62P2

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 5, 2025

These are tests of institutional integrity. In an age of disinformation, eroded trust in public systems, and rising youth disenchantment, the burden to uphold the spirit of electoral justice lies equally on the state, the opposition, and the civil society because once a citizen begins to believe that their vote does not matter, or worse, that it never counted to begin with, the silent unraveling of democracy begins, with resignation. That is a loss no nation can afford.