Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi addressed the media at the national headquarters of the Indian National Congress in New Delhi, claiming a dossier titled the “H-Files” constitutes proof of large-scale electoral manipulation by the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission of India. He cited purported data from the EC’s own records to contend that the Congress would have won the Haryana assembly election had allegations of voter roll tampering and manipulations of various kinds not occurred.
According to sources, Gandhi asserted that a “hydrogen bomb” of evidence is ready for release and described the H-Files as detailing systematic deletions and additions of electors across multiple states, including Haryana, Maharashtra and Karnataka. He said the EC has been operating under the influence of the BJP and argued that the integrity of the 2024 national elections and subsequent state polls is under threat of “vote theft”.
The EC challenged Gandhi’s claim, reminding that its official rules require submission of evidence under oath. The Karnataka electoral body has requested a formal declaration from Gandhi with names of allegedly impacted electors, as per Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The EC reiterated that filing an election petition is the appropriate avenue to contest poll outcomes and warned that allegations without supporting evidence could be deemed baseless.
A spokesperson for the BJP, Jaiveer Shergill, dismissed the accusations as hollow and politically motivated. He claimed Gandhi’s campaign lacked resonance beyond his own party base and accused him of diverting attention away from accountability by focusing on alleged electoral malpractices. The spokesperson pointed to the 2024 Lok Sabha results—where the BJP secured around 240 seats and the Congress roughly 99—and argued that if widespread vote theft had occurred, the outcomes would have been markedly different.
Independent analysts note that the debate over voter-list revision and roll integrity has escalated into a major political flashpoint. The EC has carried out Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in 12 states and union territories, including Bihar, to verify migration, duplication and other anomalies. Gandhi’s claims reference roll changes in Bihar, Karnataka and Haryana, where he argues large numbers of electors were either deleted or inappropriately added. The EC counters that voter deletion cannot be done online and structural safeguards are in place to maintain roll transparency.
Regional election commissioners in Haryana, Karnataka and Maharashtra have asked Gandhi to provide documents or affidavits backing his claims. Failure to comply could result in the EC considering the allegations unsubstantiated. The congress leader, however, has declined to file a sworn affidavit, stating that his public declarations already amount to an oath and that the data used originates from the EC itself.
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