‘Cong filed zero objections to Haryana voter rolls’: ECI sources on Rahul Gandhi’s ‘H-Bomb’ claim

New Delhi, Nov 5 After the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, dropped what he called his “H-Bomb” -- alleging large-scale voter fraud in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections -- Election Commission of India (ECI) sources said the Congress party has filed no appeals or objections regarding electoral rolls during the revision process.

Gandhi on Wednesday accused the ECI of “stealing votes” at the behest of the ruling BJP, claiming that 25 lakh votes were bogus in a state with roughly two crore voters -- amounting to “one in every eight voters” or 12.5 per cent fake entries.

He alleged that the exit polls had projected the Congress party to win, but the BJP retained power through rigging, duplicate voters and “bulk voting”.

Responding to the charges, ECI sources dismissed the allegations as baseless and questioned the Congress’ own vigilance during the electoral process.

“What were the Congress polling agents doing inside polling stations?” a senior official asked.

“Polling agents are required to object if a voter has already voted or if there is a doubt about their identity,” the official said.

Sources said that during the electoral roll revision, Congress Booth Level Agents (BLAs) did not file claims or objections regarding alleged duplicate, shifted or dead voters.

“Why were no claims and objections raised by INC’s BLAs to prevent multiple entries?” ECI sources said, adding that the party also filed no appeals at the revision stage.

The ECI pointed out that only 22 election petitions are currently pending in various High Courts for 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, which the sources said is normal litigation volume for a state election of this size.

Questioning the basis of Rahul Gandhi’s claims that duplicate or fake voters benefited the BJP, the sources asked: “How does Rahul Gandhi know who these alleged fake voters cast their vote for?”

Sources also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi over his stance on the Statewide Intensive Revision (SIR) -- a process meant to clean electoral rolls by removing duplicate, dead, and migrated voters.

“Is he supporting SIR to remove such entries or opposing it?” the ECI sources said.

Releasing what he termed the “H-Files”, Gandhi shared videos suggesting irregularities in voter lists, including multiple voter IDs with the same photograph but different names. He also circulated a clip of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini allegedly saying that “arrangements” had been made ahead of the results -- a remark Gandhi claimed hinted at electoral manipulation.

“The Election Commission can remove duplicates in a second. Why don’t they do it? Because they are helping the BJP,” Gandhi alleged.

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