BJP has bly responded to Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote theft and duplicate votes in the Haryana elections. BJP released a 24-page document, claiming the allegations are baseless and misleading, and calling them a strategy by Congress to hide its defeat.
Chandigarh: BJP has issued a detailed response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of vote theft and duplicate votes in the Haryana assembly elections. Rahul Gandhi had claimed on Tuesday that approximately 25 lakh votes were stolen in Haryana. In response, BJP on Wednesday shared a 24-page document, calling it a strategy by Rahul Gandhi to hide his defeat. BJP stated that Rahul Gandhi's objective is to create an atmosphere of confusion and distrust in the country.
BJP Claims Presence of Bogus Votes
BJP stated that Congress is only leveling allegations on the seats where it lost, whereas duplicate and suspicious votes were found even on seats where Congress won. BJP claimed that voter registration occurred multiple times with the same photo and name at several booths. These bogus votes were cast in favor of Congress, affecting results on many seats.
BJP's Response to Congress's Defeat Statistics
Rahul Gandhi had stated that Congress lost eight seats by a margin of 22,000 votes. BJP countered that it also lost seats like Loharu, Adampur, Rohtak, Sadhaura, Panchkula, Fatehabad, and Thanesar by very narrow margins, totaling 12,592 votes, yet it did not make excuses for defeat. BJP cited the example of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections where it fell short of a majority by 32 seats, a total difference of only 33,000 votes, but it did not question the Election Commission's intentions.
BJP Also Responds to Exit Poll Logic
Responding to Rahul Gandhi's assertion that exit polls showed Congress in the lead, BJP stated that exit poll results are not the final picture of an election. BJP gave examples where exit polls were in its favor in Jharkhand in 2024 and Himachal Pradesh in 2022, but Congress governments were formed there. At that time, BJP neither accused the Election Commission nor created any controversy.
BJP Labels Claims on Postal Ballots as Misleading
Regarding Rahul Gandhi's claims on postal ballots, BJP stated that postal ballots constituted only 0.57 percent of the total votes in Haryana. BJP said that Rahul Gandhi's argument that Congress was ahead in postal ballots, and therefore had already won the election, is entirely incorrect. BJP added that claiming the counting of 99.43 percent of votes was influenced based on 0.57 percent of votes is akin to spreading confusion.
Allegations of Duplicate Votes on Seats Won by Congress
BJP cited booths and areas where multiple votes were registered under the same name. In the Mulana assembly constituency, 223 votes were found registered with the same photo at Mulana and Dhakola booths, where Congress won. Similar votes were also recorded at Booth numbers 81 and 7 in Thanesar, Booths 166 and 161 in Loharu, and Booths 136 and 40 in Panchkula, where BJP had lost.
Suspicious Voting Patterns on Several Seats in Nuh District
BJP stated that Congress won three seats in Nuh district due to duplicate and illegal votes being registered. At Booth numbers 48, 6, and 164 in Garhi-Sampla-Kiloi, three votes were found registered under the name of a single person. At Booths 117 and 118 in Nuh, two votes each were found. In Nuh and Punhana, over 30 voters were registered in houses where residency could not be confirmed. The same pattern was found in Ferozepur Jhirka.
BJP Leaders Attack Congress
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and BJP State President Mohan Lal Badoli stated that it is an old tactic of Congress to question the Election Commission and democratic institutions upon losing elections. They added that Congress avoids self-assessment and resorts to allegations to hide its defeat.
Manohar Lal's Taunt at Rahul Gandhi
Union Minister Manohar Lal, taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, said that Rahul Gandhi's situation is akin to the proverb "Naach na jaane aangan tedha" (A bad dancer blames the stage). Manohar Lal stated that when Congress does not get desired results in elections, it starts blaming others instead of acknowledging its own mistakes.
