New Delhi, November 5: In a dramatic move, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, today dropped what he called his "hydrogen bomb" — an explosive claim of widespread electoral fraud in the Haryana Assembly elections held last year. Gandhi accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating the theft of 25 lakh votes in Haryana, a state with a total electorate of 2 crore voters. He argued that this represented 12.5 percent of the total votes, suggesting that one in every eight voters in the state was fraudulent.
According to Gandhi, several Congress candidates had raised concerns with him post-election, expressing suspicions about irregularities. He noted that all exit polls had predicted a Congress victory, but the actual results saw the BJP emerging victorious. Gandhi further highlighted a video of Nayab Singh Saini, a senior BJP leader and Haryana's Chief Minister, in which Saini confidently declared before the results were announced that "arrangements" had been made for the BJP's win. Gandhi questioned the nature of these "arrangements," pointing out that Saini made these remarks two days after the election, when exit polls suggested a Congress sweep.
"This is highly suspicious," Gandhi said. "What were these 'arrangements' he was referring to? How could he be so sure of a victory when all indicators pointed to the Congress party winning?"
The Congress leader also pointed out a historic anomaly in Haryana's election process, noting that this was the first time in the state's history where postal votes contradicted the results at the polling booths. "I am questioning the Election Commission and the integrity of the democratic process," Gandhi asserted. "And I have 100 percent proof. We are convinced that a well-coordinated plan was executed to convert Congress's anticipated landslide victory into a loss."
Gandhi went on to highlight the narrow margins by which Congress lost in several constituencies, including one where the party was defeated by just 32 votes. He added that the cumulative margin of loss across eight constituencies amounted to 22,779 votes. "Congress lost Haryana by just 22,779 votes — that's how razor-thin the margin was," he said, further cementing his claim of a stolen election.
The BJP has responded to these allegations. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised Rahul Gandhi's claims of vote theft in Haryana. He alleged that the Haryana issue is being fabricated to divert attention from the Bihar elections.
During a press conference at the BJP headquarters, Rijiju emphasised that one has to accept both victory and defeat in a democracy. "Now, to hide his failures, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi is once again holding a press conference. Voting is two days away in Bihar, but today, Rahul Gandhi was narrating the story of Haryana. This clearly shows that there is no issue left in Bihar, so the Haryana issue is being fabricated to divert attention...He (Rahul Gandhi) said that the Congress had won in the exit polls in Haryana. Even during the 2004 elections, exit polls and opinion polls were declaring victory for the BJP and NDA, but in the counting results, the NDA lost. We accepted the results and congratulated the UPA, but we did not abuse the Election Commission. In a democracy, one has to accept both victory and defeat. But when exit polls are in favour of Congress, he applauds, and when they go against, he abuses the media," said Rijiju.
The Union Minister stated that the Congress party in Haryana lost because its leaders were not actively working on the ground
