The Congress party has launched a nationwide campaign titled “Vote Chori” (vote theft), accusing the BJP and the Election Commission (EC) of large-scale electoral fraud during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Spearheaded by Congress’s Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, the campaign aims to demand transparency in voter rolls and election processes ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly polls.
The campaign focuses on alleged irregularities, particularly in Karnataka’s Bangalore Central constituency, where Congress claims over 1 lakh fake voters influenced the BJP’s victory by a margin of 32,707 votes. Allegations include duplicate voters, invalid addresses, bulk registrations, and misuse of Form 6. Similar claims have been made about Bihar constituencies, where hundreds of voters reportedly share a single address.
Launched on 10 August via a dedicated web portal, votechori.in, and a call-in number, the campaign invites citizens to report electoral fraud, download alleged evidence, and support demands for machine-readable, digitally auditable voter rolls. Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, KC Venugopal, and Ajay Maken have endorsed the initiative, which aims to rally public support for clean and fair elections.
Rahul Gandhi described “Vote Chori” as an attack on the democratic principle of “one man, one vote,” calling on the Election Commission to release transparent digital voter lists for public audit. The campaign includes planned protests, with around 300 INDIA Alliance MPs set to march from Parliament to the Election Commission headquarters, risking arrest if stopped by police.
The Election Commission has strongly rejected the allegations, demanding that Rahul Gandhi submit a signed declaration under oath or issue a public apology. It labeled the claims “false and misleading,” citing privacy and legal reasons for withholding voter rolls in machine-readable formats. The Chief Electoral Officers of Karnataka and Haryana have also issued formal notices demanding documentary proof of the alleged irregularities.
The BJP dismissed the campaign as a political stunt, urging Congress to file formal election petitions instead of making unsubstantiated claims.
Congress allies in the INDIA bloc, including the Trinamool Congress, have backed the campaign, announcing a “Matdata Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar from 1 September to highlight electoral transparency concerns.
As Bihar heads towards elections, the “Vote Chori” campaign represents a significant opposition push to challenge the Election Commission’s credibility and mobilize public support around electoral integrity.
