Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Campaign a Predictable Playbook, Says BJP as Opposition Unites

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Campaign a Predictable Playbook: Rahul Gandhi has found a new war cry—‘Vote Chori’ but for the BJP it’s the same old, tired script. They don’t find fault in their wins in Karnataka or Telangana but blame fraud when they lose in Maharashtra or Haryana.

For BJP, Gandhi’s rhetoric is just a media campaign with no legal recourse to courts. A top party source said Gandhi’s real aim is not to prove his claims in court but to erode public trust in institutions.

The SIR protest march in Parliament on Monday served another purpose for Gandhi—him bringing together the INDIA bloc for the first time on an issue after the Lok Sabha elections. Gandhi led the march with SP’s Akhilesh Yadav, DMK’s Kanimozhi, TMC MPs, RJD and the Left in tow. After over a year, the Opposition is finally uniting for a common cause.

Also Read: ‘Big Blow’: Trump Targets Russia’s Oil Exports to India, Says ‘Their Economy Not Doing Well’

But apart from that, Gandhi’s strategy doesn’t look within, say top BJP sources. Like the party’s poor organisation or dwindling cadre footprint across the country that led to election losses. Or the party’s weak leadership. The approach towards ECI gives a new insurance to the party’s future losses—that it’s not our fault.

Another top BJP source points out other gross inconsistencies in Gandhi’s claims. One, narrow wins being termed by him as instances of election fraud. According to the source, narrow wins are part of India’s electoral history and there have been two instances of politicians winning by just one vote and umpteen examples of margins below a 1,000 votes or lesser.

Phased polling in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls was also nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to Indian elections, the second BJP source mentioned above said. Congress also banks on exit polls to say the real results are quite the opposite (like in Haryana) and hence, cries fraud. But BJP points out how exit polls have been consistently proven wrong.

Also Read: Triptii Dimri’s Acting Coach Says She Chose Wrong Films After Animal: ‘Didn’t Work Well’

It’s also a fact that India’s electorate is growing like its population. A 4.4 per cent voter growth in Maharashtra in 2024, which Congress has cited as suspicious, was lower than under UPA in 2004 when it was 4.7 per cent, the first BJP source said. In 2024, Karnataka’s voter rolls were managed by a Congress state government which now cries fraud.

Top BJP sources point out duplicate voters in Congress bastions in Karnataka and claim BJP has been at the receiving end of such a phenomenon in Malegaon Central, Kerala, Wayanad, Rae Bareli, as well as Diamond Harbour. BJP sources say it was the Bihar SIR exercise which eliminated ‘electoral fraud’ carrying on in the state for years.

Gandhi may not be able to prove his ‘vote chori’ but for now his campaign is the Opposition’s glue which sees the cross-country SIR as a “common enemy”. BJP hopes the Bihar result will be the answer to Gandhi’s narrative as LoP moves from EVMs to ‘Vote Chori’ and hopes something sticks.

Also Read: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt & Vicky Kaushal to Shoot ‘Love & War’ at MP’s British-Era Army Base