New Delhi, November 2025: Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday unveiled what he called “Operation Sarkar Chori” — alleging a coordinated voter data rigging campaign in the 2024 Haryana Assembly Elections that helped the BJP secure its third straight win. Gandhi described the episode as a “theft of democracy,” claiming manipulated electoral rolls deprived Congress of a fair contest.
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| Rahul Gandhi Press Conference |
š Table of Contents
- Stock Photo Controversy
- Scale of Alleged Irregularities
- EC Forms & Duplication Checks
- Cross-State Duplication
- ‘House Number 0’ Dispute
- Electoral Context & Youth Appeal
- Bihar Warning
- FAQs
š· Stock Photo Controversy
Gandhi highlighted a bizarre instance where the same stock photo of a woman, credited to Brazilian photographer Matheus Ferrero, allegedly appeared 22 times across 10 polling booths under names like Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, and Vimla. He said the image originated from Unsplash (2017), calling it proof of centrally inserted duplicate identities rather than booth-level tampering.
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| Rahul Gandhi Presents Operation Sarkar Chori Evidence in Haryana Election 2024 |
š Scale of Alleged Irregularities
The Congress leader claimed that 25 lakh fake voters were added to Haryana’s rolls — including 5 lakh duplicates, 93,174 invalid addresses, and 19,26,351 “bulk” voters. He argued that such scale “could only occur through a central mechanism bypassing verification safeguards.”
š EC Forms & Duplication Checks
Gandhi accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of blocking access to Forms 6 and 7 after earlier misuse reports in Karnataka’s Mahadevapura and Aland constituencies. He said existing software to detect duplicates wasn’t used, allowing repeated photos and documents to persist.
š Cross-State Duplication
According to Gandhi, thousands of individuals — including BJP leaders — voted in both Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, showing cross-state duplication that proper voter ID checks should have prevented. He also cited deletion of 3.5 lakh voters before Lok Sabha polls as part of a “larger electoral pattern.”
š ‘House Number 0’ Dispute
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar defended “House No. 0” entries as identifiers for homeless voters. Gandhi countered this with a case from Haryana where people with proper homes had the same tag, arguing that the ECI failed to verify addresses hosting more than ten voters, violating its own rules.
š³️ Electoral Context & Youth Appeal
Contrary to most opinion polls predicting a Congress wave, the BJP secured 48 of 90 seats — an unprecedented third consecutive victory. Gandhi called on India’s Gen Z and youth to “defend democracy with Satya (truth) and Ahimsa (non-violence),” describing the alleged manipulation as a theft of constitutional values.
⚠️ Bihar Warning
Gandhi warned that similar patterns could surface in the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections (November 6–11, 2025). He presented testimonies from voters claiming their names were deleted, calling Haryana’s case the “H-Files” — a template for electoral fraud monitoring nationwide.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is ‘Operation Sarkar Chori’?
It’s Rahul Gandhi’s claim that voter data was manipulated during the 2024 Haryana elections, allegedly benefitting the BJP.
How many fake voters were alleged?
He cited approximately 25 lakh fake entries — including duplicates and invalid addresses — across Haryana.
Why does ‘House No. 0’ matter?
Gandhi says many voters tagged under “House 0” actually have homes, suggesting poor verification by election authorities.
Could this affect Bihar’s election?
He warned of potential replication of such irregularities in Bihar’s November 2025 polls, urging vigilance among voters.
