Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the ruling BJP of compromising India's electoral framework, alleging that elections across the country were being rigged.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Gandhi referred to an investigative report by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding procedures, database changes and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.
Gandhi questioned the reported absence of anti-incumbency against the BJP, contrasting its electoral performance with the historical pattern of governments and political parties losing public support.
Rahul Gandhi Targets CEC Gyanesh Kumar Over Election Irregularities
Referring to the reported objections raised by the two Election Commissioners, Gandhi questioned the role of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and alleged that the concerns he had raised earlier were ignored.
"Indian elections, Lok Sabha Elections, 2024 elections, Vidhan Sabha Elections are all being rigged. The people on top of that list are who we call the conspirators. By the way, Mr Gyanesh Kumar, who is sitting there two election commissioners, two election commissioners are raising questions about that man. I have been raising questions; those questions were ignored. People of India believed it. But the institutional framework of India was not interested. But now, two election commissioners, by the way, chosen by the leadership. Gyanesh Kumar was chosen by the Prime Minister of India, not by anybody less. He was chosen by Amit Shah. And now two election commissioners are saying that Mr Gyanesh Kumar is responsible for the chaos, for the damage that has taken place to our voting system," he said.
Rahul Gandhi Questions Disappearance Of Anti-Incumbency
Gandhi also questioned how anti-incumbency, which he said had historically influenced election results across states, appeared to have disappeared in favour of the BJP.
"Haryana swings from one party to another for 50 years. Suddenly anti-incumbency disappears. Maharashtra swings; suddenly it disappears. Uttar Pradesh swings. Sometimes Samajwadi, sometimes BSP; it disappears. Madhya Pradesh, it disappears. Gujarat, it disappears. This has been a fundamental question for us. We can understand the popularity of a person, and the performance of a government, but we cannot understand how anti-incumbency disappears. Anti-incumbency does not exist in Saddam Hussein's Iraq. It does not exist in North Korea. There is no democracy on this planet where anti-incumbency does not exist..." he said.
Drawing on his political background, Gandhi said anti-incumbency had affected governments and leaders across the country, including Congress and regional parties, but questioned why the same trend did not appear to affect Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP.
"I come from a political family, and I have spent more than 50 years in a political family... In India, there is a fundamental force called anti-incumbency that very quickly starts to resist any government. It does not spare anybody. Indira Gandhi won the Bangladesh war, was at the height of her popularity, and then suddenly, within a year or two, massive anti-incumbency, massive pressure. The same exact thing happens to leader after leader after leader. Happens to Congress leaders; it happens to regional parties, but for some reason, it never happens to Mr Narendra Modi, does not happen to Mr Shah, does not happen to the BJP," he added.
'Vote Chori' Leads To 'Kanoon Chori': Rahul Gandhi
Gandhi alleged that electoral manipulation would undermine the legitimacy of Parliament and the laws passed by it, arguing that the electoral process forms the basis of India's legal and institutional framework.
"I want to emphasise that from vote chori comes kanoon chori because if the vote is stolen, the legal structure is gone. And from kanoon chori comes sanstha chori institutions. And this is the chain that has taken place. Today the vote is gone; the law-making system is gone. Meaning, if the vote has been stolen and the MPs sitting in parliament are there based on a stolen vote then any law they are making is illegal. Please let me repeat this if the votes are stolen and the MPs who have entered parliament have done so on a stolen vote, then any law that they have made is illegal. And any institutional change they make is also illegal," said Rahul Gandhi.
Explaining the relationship between electoral mandates, the Constitution, laws and institutions, Gandhi said that alleged damage to the electoral process would have consequences for the entire system.
"From the vote, which is supposed to be protected by the Election Commission, our Constitution gets its power. From the Constitution, our laws are made, and from our laws emerge our institutions. This is a chain... If the vote has been destroyed, then our constitution has been destroyed... If our constitution has been destroyed, our laws are illegal. If our laws are illegal, our institutions are meaningless," he said.
Gandhi further described the alleged irregularities as an attack on the democratic rights of citizens.
"The central question here is this is not just an attack on the vote; this is an attack on the idea, the basic infrastructure, and the expression of every single Indian person. We have been saying it again and again and again that there is a problem with the vote," he added.
Indian Express Report Flags Election Commissioners' Objections
The remarks come after an investigation by The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had repeatedly objected to procedural changes allegedly implemented without the full Commission's approval.
The reported objections concerned the centralisation of the ERONET electoral roll database, changes to new voter registration forms (Form 6) and decisions on voter deletions during the SIR exercise.
According to the report, Sandhu and Joshi recorded 14 formal written dissents over 10 months regarding decision-making under CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
Rahul Gandhi Calls Vote Chori 'Treason'
Reacting to the report, Gandhi described the alleged electoral irregularities as "Vote Chori" and "treason". He also announced that the issue would be taken up at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting scheduled for September 29.
Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of electoral manipulation over the SIR process, alleging vote chori since the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
On Wednesday, responding to the Indian Express report, he posted on X: "Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our constitution. The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served."
The Election Commission, meanwhile, said internal technical notes and written queries were standard procedure in a multi-member body. It maintained that all final decisions concerning the SIR process were taken unanimously and had full legal sanction.
