New Delhi — The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday accused prominent opposition MPs of winning their seats through irregularities in voter registration, demanding that they resign from Parliament. The allegations targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi (Wayanad), Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Rae Bareli), Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee (Diamond Harbour), and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav (Kannauj).
Anurag Thakur, presenting a slideshow at the BJP headquarters, claimed that an ‘analysis’ of electoral rolls in these constituencies showed evidence of manipulation. He further alleged irregularities in voter registration in the Kolathur assembly seat in Tamil Nadu, represented by DMK chief and Chief Minister M. K. Stalin, and in Mainpuri Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh, held by SP leader Dimple Yadav. Thakur demanded their immediate resignations, accusing them of “rigging” elections.
Thakur accused the Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, and DMK of attempting to discredit the Election Commission while running “a vicious propaganda” against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls. He alleged that these parties were defending a “vote bank” comprising “illegal Bangladeshi infiltrators” and other “intruders.”
Referring to opposition criticism, Thakur remarked, “Seeing this hue and cry, it now seems that ‘chor machaye shor’,” implying that those guilty are making the most noise.
The BJP leader posed a direct question: “Rae Bareli, Wayanad, Kannauj, Diamond Harbour — why make fake voters? Will they resign for indulging in ‘vote chori’ and protecting intruders?”
The charges follow a similar accusation by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi last Thursday. Using data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Gandhi claimed that more than one lakh votes were “stolen” in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura assembly segment through duplicate entries, invalid addresses, and single-address voters.
Tensions escalated Tuesday when opposition leaders, protesting the alleged voter fraud, marched from Parliament to the Election Commission’s office but were stopped and briefly detained by police.
On Wednesday, Congress intensified its campaign by releasing a video alleging fake voting, with party chief Mallikarjun Kharge urging citizens to safeguard constitutional institutions from BJP’s “clutches.” Gandhi also posted the video online, declaring, “Your stolen vote is the theft of your rights and your identity.”
