New Delhi [India], January 24 : Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Saturday alleged large-scale "vote theft" in Gujarat under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of "selectively removing voters" from Congress-supporting areas and claiming that the Election Commission (EC) has become the "main accomplice" in the conspiracy.
Sharing a post by the Gujarat Congress on X, Gandhi Gandhi asserted that the exercise being carried out in the name of SIR was not administrative in nature but a deliberate, organised exercise aimed at manipulating elections.
"Wherever there is SIR, there is vote theft. What is being done in Gujarat in the name of SIR is not any kind of administrative process - it is premeditated, organised, and strategic vote theft," Gandhi wrote.
https://x.com/RahulGandhi/status/2015016110433935397
The Congress leader further alleged that objections to the electoral rolls were being filed in bulk using identical names, describing the development as "dangerous." He claimed selective deletion of voters, alleging that particular communities and polling booths were being targeted.
"The most shocking and dangerous thing is that thousands upon thousands of objections have been filed under the same name. Votes have been selectively cut from specific communities and Congress-supporting booths. Wherever the BJP faces defeat, voters themselves are made to disappear from the system," he said.
Gandhi alleged that a similar pattern had been witnessed earlier in Karnataka and Maharashtra and that the same "blueprint" was now being implemented in Gujarat and Rajasthan.
"This is the same pattern that was seen in Aaland. This is what happened in Rajura. And now the same blueprint is being implemented in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and every state where SIR has been imposed," he added.
Terming the SIR exercise a threat to constitutional principles, Gandhi said it had been weaponised to undermine the democratic process. "SIR has been turned into a weapon to eliminate the constitutional right of 'one person, one vote' - so that it is not the people, but the BJP, that decides who will hold power," he wrote.
Launching a scathing attack on the Election Commission, he asserted that the poll body is "no longer the guardian of democracy", but has become the main accomplice in this "vote theft conspiracy".
"And the most serious truth is that the Election Commission is no longer the guardian of democracy, but has become the main accomplice in this vote theft conspiracy," Gandhi said.
Earlier in the day, the Gujarat Congress, in a detailed post on X, alleged irregularities in the objection process during the SIR exercise and accused the BJP of adopting what it termed a "next level model of election theft."
"In Gujarat, the #TINA of SIR and the Election Commission. After the revelation of vote theft by the Leader of the Opposition, Shri Rahul Gandhi Ji, the BJP has adopted a Next Level model of election theft," the party said in its post.
https://x.com/INCGujarat/status/2014876323064504515
Explaining its allegations, the Gujarat Congress said, "Election theft means the theft of your right to vote--this new game has come to light in Gujarat."
According to the party, the Election Commission had issued a draft list after SIR and set January 18 as the final date for filing objections.
"As per the rules, the Election Commission began taking objections after issuing the draft list following SIR and declared January 18 as the final date. Until January 15, only a handful of objections were received, but the real game began after that: under a conspiracy, millions of objections (Form 7) were suddenly submitted," the post read.
The Gujarat Congress further claimed that the objections violated established norms and disproportionately targeted specific groups.
"Yesterday, when the Election Commission released 1.2 million objections in which, by flouting the rules to target specific castes, classes, and regions, dozens of objections were registered in the name of a single person, where the name belongs to one individual, the signatures to another and the Election Commission remains a complete mute spectator," the party alleged.
The party also accused the Election Commission of failing to respond to official communication. "When the main opposition party writes a letter demanding information about these objections, no response is given, which makes the election theft entirely evident. Because the Election Commission has already pledged both its responsibility and accountability at the feet of those in power," the post said.
Vowing to continue its protest, the Gujarat Congress said that the party would fight from the streets to the halls "to safeguard the constitutional right of 'one person, one vote."
"But even if the Election Commission tries to evade its responsibility, we will not allow the Election Commission to toy with India's democracy and the rights of the people. We will fight from the streets to the halls to safeguard the constitutional right of 'one person, one vote,' and we will not sit quietly as long as even one person's right is in danger," the party added.
This is not the first time the Congress Party has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party is 'vote chori'. Earlier, Gandhi alleged vote theft in the 2025 Bihar assembly election. Last year, he also alleged vote chori in the Haryana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra polls.