Brazil model voted as 'Seema, Sweety' in Haryana: Rahul Gandhi
What's the story
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has dropped another vote chori claim, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of manipulating the results of the 2024 Haryana assembly elections. He alleged that 25 lakh fake votes were cast, amounting to about 12% of the state's electorate. "One in every eight voters in Haryana is fake," he said at a press conference in Delhi. He said that because of vote chori, the Congress lost the election by 22,000 votes.
Fraud claims
Brazilian model appears 22 times in voter list
To support his allegations, Gandhi showed slides with discrepancies in voter rolls. He cited a Brazilian model's photo appearing 22 times under different names like Seema, Sweety, and Saraswati. "Who is this lady? What is her name? Where does she come from? But she votes 22 times in Haryana, at 10 different booths, and has multiple names: Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi,... But turns out she is actually a Brazilian model," he alleged.
Case
Same photo appeared again and again
Showing another slide, he claimed the same photo appeared again and again among the 223 photos in one booth. "We have a gentleman who is voting 14 times - in booth 508, 431. We have another man, Rudrabhishek Jain - he is voting in booth number 130, 131. His brother is also voting; they have 18 votes. EC can remove duplicates in a second...You don't even need AI for that...But they don't do it because they are helping the BJP."
Election integrity
Gandhi questions Haryana CM's post-election comments
Gandhi also questioned the integrity of the election process, citing a post-election video of Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Saini. He pointed to Saini's smile and comments about "vyavastha" (arrangement) just two days after the election when Congress was expected to win. "This is two days after the election, when everyone was saying Congress was sweeping," he said.
ECI
Postal voting result opposite to results in polling booths
He further stated that this was the first time in Haryana's history that the postal voting results were opposite the results in polling booths. "I am questioning the Election Commission and the democratic process in India, and I am doing this with 100 percent proof. We are sure that a plan was put in motion to convert Congress's landslide victory into a loss," he said. He said even the exit polls had pointed to a Congress victory in Haryana.
Campaign continuation
Third presser on alleged voter manipulation
Responding to Gandhi while his conference was underway, the ECI said there had been no appeals against the electoral rolls in Haryana and questioned why Congress polling agents did not raise objections if they suspected false voting. "What were the agents of Congress doing at the polling stations?" an EC official asked. This is Gandhi's third press conference on alleged voter manipulation.