Whether what Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi detonated on Wednesday was a hydrogen bomb or some other kind, he succeeded in convincing many that the Haryana Assembly elections were far from free and fair.
His central claim—that as many as 25 lakh fake voters were created through a centralised “Operation Sarkar Chori”—cannot be brushed aside merely as political theatrics, especially when accompanied by concrete evidence and verifiable examples that demand close examination by independent authorities.
According to Gandhi, despite all the ground reports and exit polls predicting a comfortable Congress victory, the party lost by a wafer-thin margin, with less than 25,000 votes separating it from the BJP. He has produced data to show that 124,177 voters had identical photographs, some appearing 223 times under different names, and that a foreign model’s picture was allegedly used on voter identity cards in multiple constituencies. The scale of duplication he describes—more than five lakh duplicate voters—is staggering enough to merit immediate investigation.
This is not the first time Gandhi has accused the Election Commission (EC) of failing to ensure free and fair elections. He had earlier exposed what he called the “fake voter scam” in Bengaluru’s Mahadevpura constituency, where thousands of fictitious voters were added to the voters’ roll.
On that occasion too, instead of promising to look into the issue, the EC chose to deflect the charge by asking him to file a sworn affidavit. Such bureaucratic responses do little to enhance public confidence in an institution once regarded as the gold standard of electoral integrity and impartial supervision.
The EC’s reaction this time—that Gandhi’s allegations are “unfounded” and that no appeals were filed against the electoral rolls—sounds unconvincing. The fact that political parties are expected to raise objections during the revision of rolls cannot absolve the Commission of its constitutional responsibility to guarantee the accuracy and fairness of the electoral process. Gandhi has pointed out that the final voter list often comes too late for meaningful scrutiny, leaving little room for objections or corrections.
A senior BJP leader in Kerala recently boasted that his party could “manipulate” votes and win seats. While that may have been an offhand remark, it underscores the growing perception that the electoral system is increasingly vulnerable to misuse of technology and political influence. The EC’s credibility rests not on denial but on transparent action and demonstrable fairness in its functioning.
At stake is not merely the result of one state election, but the very faith of citizens in the democratic process. When the Leader of Opposition levels such serious, data-backed charges, the honourable response is not evasion but inquiry. The Election Commission must act—not to please any party, but to preserve the sanctity of the vote, which alone gives legitimacy to those who govern India.
