New Delhi, Nov 5 (UNI) The Election Commission of India has strongly rejected allegations of widespread voter fraud in Haryana’s 2024 Assembly elections made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, calling the claims ‘unsubstantiated’ and raising pointed questions about the Congress party’s own oversight during the electoral process.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi, while addressing a press conference, alleged that nearly 25 lakh votes in Haryana were “fake”, accusing the ruling BJP of engineering a scheme to overturn a projected Congress victory. He pointed to discrepancies between postal ballots and booth votes and alleged multiple irregularities including duplicate voter identities and fake photos on voter ID cards.
However, ECI officials countered these claims by highlighting that Congress-appointed Booth Level Agents (BLAs) failed to raise any objections or claims during the crucial voter list revision phase—a period when such discrepancies could have been addressed.
“Why were no claims and objections raised by INC’s BLAs during revision to avoid multiple names?” questioned an EC source.
The officials noted that the final electoral rolls were published after thorough scrutiny, with over 4 lakh claims and objections resolved. No appeals were filed against Electoral Registration Officers’ decisions, and only 23 election petitions challenging the Haryana results are currently pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The Commission also clarified Gandhi’s assertions regarding “house number zero” voters, explaining that this classification refers to areas lacking official house numbers, not homeless individuals as alleged.
During his press conference, Gandhi accused the ECI of refusing to deploy software capable of detecting duplicate voters, alleging deliberate negligence. He cited instances of individuals registered multiple times under different names and addresses, including a woman whose photograph appeared on 22 different voter cards.
This controversy follows Gandhi’s earlier criticism of the ECI’s handling of voter deletions in Karnataka, where he accused the Commission of shielding anti-democratic forces—a charge the ECI dismissed as ‘baseless’.
As political tensions mount ahead of critical elections, the ECI’s firm rebuttal highlights the imperative for all political parties to actively ensure electoral integrity and adhere to due process.
The episode underscores the ongoing challenge of safeguarding public trust in India’s democratic institutions amidst fierce political rivalry.
