New Delhi: In a sharp counter to Congress’s allegations of “vote theft,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday mounted a fresh attack on Sonia Gandhi, questioning her voter history and alleging that the Congress leader was enrolled in India’s electoral rolls before becoming an Indian citizen.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya led the charge, claiming that Sonia Gandhi’s name appeared on the voters’ list even before she acquired citizenship. “This exposes the hypocrisy of the Congress party, which is making false allegations on voter fraud,” Malviya said in a post on X.
“Her name first appeared on the rolls in 1980 — three years before she became an Indian citizen and while she still held Italian citizenship. At the time, the Gandhi family lived at 1, Safdarjung Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Until then, the voters registered at that address were Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Maneka Gandhi. In 1980, the electoral rolls of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency were revised with January 1, 1980, as the qualifying date. During this revision, Sonia Gandhi’s name was added, appearing at serial number 388 in polling station 145. This entry was a clear violation of the law, which requires a person to be an Indian citizen to be registered as a voter,”Malviya’s post on X reads.
“Following an outcry in 1982, her name was deleted from the list — only to reappear in 1983. But even her reinstatement raised serious questions. In the fresh revision of the electoral rolls that year, Sonia Gandhi was listed at serial number 236 in polling station 140. The qualifying date for registration was January 1, 1983 — yet she was granted Indian citizenship only on April 30, 1983,” it reads further.
“In other words, Sonia Gandhi’s name entered the electoral rolls twice without meeting the basic citizenship requirement — first as an Italian citizen in 1980, and then again in 1983, months before she legally became a citizen of India. We are not even asking why it took her 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi to accept Indian citizenship. If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?” he asked.
The remark came days after Rahul Gandhi’s explosive charge that the BJP, with the alleged support of the Election Commission, engineered a large-scale “vote chori” (vote theft) during recent elections. His claims, which he described as an “atom bomb,” alleged massive irregularities, including fake entries and duplicate voters in several constituencies.
The BJP dismissed the Congress’s accusations as baseless and accused the opposition party of creating a narrative to cover up its electoral defeats. “If the Congress leadership does not trust the Election Commission, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi should resign from Parliament,” Malviya added.
Meanwhile, while addressing a press conference, BJP leader Anurag Thakur mounted an attack on the Congress specifically for opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar. Anurag Thakur said the Grand Old Party looks at “one group” to secure their vote bank and accused it of “appeasement politics”.
Anurag Thakur cited examples of alleged duplicate voters, fake addresses, manipulated age and mass voting in seats like Raebareli, where Rahul Gandhi is an MP from, and also in TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat, as well as Akhilesh Yadav’s Kannauj constituency.
The row over electoral integrity has triggered a fierce political slugfest, with both sides trading charges. While the Congress has intensified its campaign accusing the BJP of manipulating voter rolls, the BJP has countered by questioning the moral authority of Congress leaders, citing Sonia Gandhi’s voter registration history.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, has rejected the allegations of large-scale voter fraud as unfounded and asked Rahul Gandhi to provide evidence under oath. The controversy is expected to escalate as the opposition continues its protests and the ruling party pushes back with counter-allegations
