One by One, Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Theft’ Propaganda Torn Apart
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The Election Commission of India (ECI) has long stood as one of the most respected institutions of Indian democracy, entrusted with ensuring free and fair elections for over seven decades. But it seems like Congress leader Rahul Gandhi does not think so, as he is not in power and desperately wants to be in power, that he has launched a relentless attack on this constitutional body, levelling grave accusations of “vote chori” without presenting credible evidence. The same institution which has elected leaders from his party for decades. And, he keeps making sensational claims in rallies, press conferences, and on social media, but never actually files complaints with the Election Commission, which is the proper way to address such issues.
This calculated approach does not appear to be about strengthening democracy. Instead, it is about weakening faith in institutions, misleading citizens with half-truths, and creating a narrative of victimhood in the face of repeated electoral defeats.
Let us take a look at the allegations and what the actual truths are-
1. The Mega Data Misfire
One of the most embarrassing episodes in Rahul Gandhi’s crusade was the Maharashtra voter data controversy. On August 17, 2025, psephologist Sanjay Kumar of CSDS tweeted flawed data claiming large-scale discrepancies in voter rolls between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Pawan Khera, jumped on this “evidence” to claim that one crore new voters had been “magically created” to help the BJP.
Within two days, Kumar publicly apologised and admitted the figures were wrong. And Pawan Khera, too deleted the data! The data had been misread, yet by then, Rahul Gandhi and his party had already turned the error into a nationwide narrative of “vote theft.”
The whole Congress ecosystem was “hunting for patterns to match a pre-cooked belief” rather than objectively testing facts. Once the lie had spread, the retraction failed to travel as fast, leaving a residue of doubt among the public—a classic disinformation tactic.
2. The Gurkirat Singh Dang Episode
Rahul Gandhi’s so-called “atom bomb proof” of vote theft involved a Karnataka resident, Gurkirat Singh Dang, whose name appeared multiple times on the electoral roll. Rahul showcased this as evidence of systemic fraud, claiming thousands of duplicate voters in one constituency alone.
But the allegation collapsed when Dang himself released a video, categorically denying that he had ever voted more than once. He demanded that Rahul Gandhi either produce proof or apologise for tarnishing his name. The ECI too clarified the issue: multiple voter ID entries are an administrative anomaly, not evidence of fraud. A person can vote only once, regardless of duplicate entries.
In reality, this duplication was the legacy of older manual systems, which the ECI has been actively cleaning up through modern platforms like ERONET.
3. The Shakun Rani Allegation – A “Fact-Checked” Falsehood
In the same press conference where Rahul showcased the Gurkirat Singh Dang case, he also cited the example of Ms. Shakun Rani, a 70-year-old voter from Mahadevapura, alleging that she was registered twice as a first-time voter and had even cast two votes. To support this, he displayed a tick-marked document, claiming it was an official record from polling staff.
The ECI swiftly rebutted the charge, declaring that the voter herself confirmed she had voted only once and that the document displayed was fake, not issued by any polling officer. The Commission formally asked Mr. Gandhi to submit the original documents for inquiry. By calling out the evidence as fabricated, the ECI elevated this episode from a dispute over interpretation to a case of false proof being circulated in public.
4. Twisting Inclusivity into Fraud: The “House Number 0”
Perhaps the most cynical of Rahul Gandhi’s claims was his attack on voters listed under “House Number 0.” He alleged that such entries were “fake addresses” used to pad voter rolls. The reality, however, is the opposite.
The ECI explained that “House Number 0” is a legitimate system to enfranchise the homeless and those living without formal addresses. Booth Level Officers verify such cases on the ground, sometimes checking multiple nights at the applicant’s stated location. This ensures that even the poorest and most vulnerable citizens—those sleeping under bridges or beside lamp posts—retain their constitutional right to vote.
Moreover, a Times Now Navbharat report has revealed an embarrassing twist: the same pattern exists in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency,
By dismissing these citizens as “fake voters,” Rahul Gandhi’s campaign not only misrepresented a lawful inclusionary policy but also insulted India’s most marginalised communities. Ironically, a movement marketed as protecting “Voter Rights” ended up undermining the rights of the voiceless.
5. Aditya Srivastava: A Fact-Checked Misreading
To bolster his claims of duplicate voters, Rahul Gandhi singled out the case of Aditya Srivastava, alleging he was registered to vote in three different states — Mumbai (Maharashtra), Mahadevapura (Karnataka), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). He presented this as proof of a systemic failure allowing thousands of such multi-state voters.
The ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh swiftly refuted the allegation. UP CEO Navdeep Rinwa clarified that Srivastava was enrolled only in Mahadevapura, and that his name never appeared in the Lucknow or Mumbai rolls. The minor error had been rectified months earlier through routine ECI procedures. What Mr. Gandhi showcased as “live fraud” was in fact an already corrected anomaly. This episode underscored a pattern of presenting misread data as fresh evidence of wrongdoing.
6. The “80 Voters in One Room” Claim
Rahul Gandhi had also alleged that 80 voters were registered in a single 120 sq. ft. room in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency, framing this as an absurd example of “bulk voters” being fraudulently added. He claimed his workers faced threats or found non-existent residents when they tried to verify such addresses.
The property owner, Jayaram Reddy, directly rebutted the charge. He explained that his tenants were migrant labourers, who temporarily used rental agreements to secure voter IDs but often moved away, retaining the ID only as proof of address. He categorically denied any BJP link, stating instead that he was a Congress member. The case revealed how a social reality of migrant housing was decontextualised and politicised as evidence of fraud, ironically backfiring when a Congress supporter himself exposed the misrepresentation.
The Elephant in the Room: Why No Formal Complaints?
The most telling aspect of Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” narrative is not what he has said, but what he has not done. Despite his repeated public accusations, he has failed to formally approach the ECI with evidence. Yet, as the ECI has pointed out, Rahul Gandhi has never filed a signed affidavit or official complaint substantiating his sensational charges. It even issued Rahul an ultimatum: either submit proof under an affidavit within seven days or apologise for misleading the nation. Predictably, he did neither.
A Dangerous Strategy of Delegitimisation
The pattern is clear. Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on the ECI are not designed to fix flaws in the system but to delegitimise the system itself. By repeatedly questioning the fairness of elections without proof, Rahul Gandhi normalises “electoral denialism,” where every defeat is explained away as rigging. Such rhetoric undermines voter confidence, insults honest election officials, and erodes the very trust that sustains democracy.
India’s democracy is resilient, but it cannot remain immune to sustained campaigns of misinformation. Rahul Gandhi’s strategy of spreading fake news while refusing legal scrutiny is not the conduct of a responsible leader. It is the conduct of a politician who, unable to win the people’s mandate, seeks instead to discredit the institutions that safeguard it.
This calculated approach does not appear to be about strengthening democracy. Instead, it is about weakening faith in institutions, misleading citizens with half-truths, and creating a narrative of victimhood in the face of repeated electoral defeats.
1. The Mega Data Misfire
One of the most embarrassing episodes in Rahul Gandhi’s crusade was the Maharashtra voter data controversy. On August 17, 2025, psephologist Sanjay Kumar of CSDS tweeted flawed data claiming large-scale discrepancies in voter rolls between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections. Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Pawan Khera, jumped on this “evidence” to claim that one crore new voters had been “magically created” to help the BJP.
Sheila Dikshit ka Chaprasi Pawan Khera also used Fake Data of @sanjaycsds to run Fake Propaganda against EC.
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) August 19, 2025
Sanjay admits he Lied against EC.
Will @Pawankhera also apologize now to EC for running agenda using Fake Data? pic.twitter.com/r57GkZYBlB
Within two days, Kumar publicly apologised and admitted the figures were wrong. And Pawan Khera, too deleted the data! The data had been misread, yet by then, Rahul Gandhi and his party had already turned the error into a nationwide narrative of “vote theft.”
The whole Congress ecosystem was “hunting for patterns to match a pre-cooked belief” rather than objectively testing facts. Once the lie had spread, the retraction failed to travel as fast, leaving a residue of doubt among the public—a classic disinformation tactic.
2. The Gurkirat Singh Dang Episode
Rahul Gandhi’s so-called “atom bomb proof” of vote theft involved a Karnataka resident, Gurkirat Singh Dang, whose name appeared multiple times on the electoral roll. Rahul showcased this as evidence of systemic fraud, claiming thousands of duplicate voters in one constituency alone.
But the allegation collapsed when Dang himself released a video, categorically denying that he had ever voted more than once. He demanded that Rahul Gandhi either produce proof or apologise for tarnishing his name. The ECI too clarified the issue: multiple voter ID entries are an administrative anomaly, not evidence of fraud. A person can vote only once, regardless of duplicate entries.
He had to apply 4 times to same error happening everytime & he filed for cancellation of other three when he got one.
— That Marine Guy🇮🇳 (@thatmarineguy21) August 16, 2025
He is going to take legal action against Rahul & some flithy creators
Even with unscannable document.pic.twitter.com/7JWfRkwfHH
In reality, this duplication was the legacy of older manual systems, which the ECI has been actively cleaning up through modern platforms like ERONET.
3. The Shakun Rani Allegation – A “Fact-Checked” Falsehood
In the same press conference where Rahul showcased the Gurkirat Singh Dang case, he also cited the example of Ms. Shakun Rani, a 70-year-old voter from Mahadevapura, alleging that she was registered twice as a first-time voter and had even cast two votes. To support this, he displayed a tick-marked document, claiming it was an official record from polling staff.
The ECI swiftly rebutted the charge, declaring that the voter herself confirmed she had voted only once and that the document displayed was fake, not issued by any polling officer. The Commission formally asked Mr. Gandhi to submit the original documents for inquiry. By calling out the evidence as fabricated, the ECI elevated this episode from a dispute over interpretation to a case of false proof being circulated in public.
4. Twisting Inclusivity into Fraud: The “House Number 0”
Perhaps the most cynical of Rahul Gandhi’s claims was his attack on voters listed under “House Number 0.” He alleged that such entries were “fake addresses” used to pad voter rolls. The reality, however, is the opposite.
The ECI explained that “House Number 0” is a legitimate system to enfranchise the homeless and those living without formal addresses. Booth Level Officers verify such cases on the ground, sometimes checking multiple nights at the applicant’s stated location. This ensures that even the poorest and most vulnerable citizens—those sleeping under bridges or beside lamp posts—retain their constitutional right to vote.
Moreover, a Times Now Navbharat report has revealed an embarrassing twist: the same pattern exists in Rahul Gandhi’s constituency,
By dismissing these citizens as “fake voters,” Rahul Gandhi’s campaign not only misrepresented a lawful inclusionary policy but also insulted India’s most marginalised communities. Ironically, a movement marketed as protecting “Voter Rights” ended up undermining the rights of the voiceless.
5. Aditya Srivastava: A Fact-Checked Misreading
To bolster his claims of duplicate voters, Rahul Gandhi singled out the case of Aditya Srivastava, alleging he was registered to vote in three different states — Mumbai (Maharashtra), Mahadevapura (Karnataka), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh). He presented this as proof of a systemic failure allowing thousands of such multi-state voters.
The ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh swiftly refuted the allegation. UP CEO Navdeep Rinwa clarified that Srivastava was enrolled only in Mahadevapura, and that his name never appeared in the Lucknow or Mumbai rolls. The minor error had been rectified months earlier through routine ECI procedures. What Mr. Gandhi showcased as “live fraud” was in fact an already corrected anomaly. This episode underscored a pattern of presenting misread data as fresh evidence of wrongdoing.
6. The “80 Voters in One Room” Claim
Rahul Gandhi had also alleged that 80 voters were registered in a single 120 sq. ft. room in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency, framing this as an absurd example of “bulk voters” being fraudulently added. He claimed his workers faced threats or found non-existent residents when they tried to verify such addresses.
The property owner, Jayaram Reddy, directly rebutted the charge. He explained that his tenants were migrant labourers, who temporarily used rental agreements to secure voter IDs but often moved away, retaining the ID only as proof of address. He categorically denied any BJP link, stating instead that he was a Congress member. The case revealed how a social reality of migrant housing was decontextualised and politicised as evidence of fraud, ironically backfiring when a Congress supporter himself exposed the misrepresentation.
The Elephant in the Room: Why No Formal Complaints?
The most telling aspect of Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” narrative is not what he has said, but what he has not done. Despite his repeated public accusations, he has failed to formally approach the ECI with evidence. Yet, as the ECI has pointed out, Rahul Gandhi has never filed a signed affidavit or official complaint substantiating his sensational charges. It even issued Rahul an ultimatum: either submit proof under an affidavit within seven days or apologise for misleading the nation. Predictably, he did neither.
A Dangerous Strategy of Delegitimisation
The pattern is clear. Rahul Gandhi’s attacks on the ECI are not designed to fix flaws in the system but to delegitimise the system itself. By repeatedly questioning the fairness of elections without proof, Rahul Gandhi normalises “electoral denialism,” where every defeat is explained away as rigging. Such rhetoric undermines voter confidence, insults honest election officials, and erodes the very trust that sustains democracy.
India’s democracy is resilient, but it cannot remain immune to sustained campaigns of misinformation. Rahul Gandhi’s strategy of spreading fake news while refusing legal scrutiny is not the conduct of a responsible leader. It is the conduct of a politician who, unable to win the people’s mandate, seeks instead to discredit the institutions that safeguard it.