Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi has alleged large-scale voter fraud during last year’s Haryana Assembly elections, claiming that as many as 25 lakh votes were stolen. He said the number represents about 12.5% of the total 2 crore voters in the state, calling it “one in every eight voters” being fake.

Gandhi stated that several Congress candidates raised concerns after the election results, saying something appeared “off”. Despite all exit polls predicting a Congress win, the final results gave victory to the BJP.

He also showed a video of Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini allegedly saying before the results that “arrangements” had been made for the BJP to win. “What were these arrangements?” Gandhi asked, questioning how the leader could be certain of victory even before counting began.

“Brazilian model voted as Seema and Sweety,” alleges Gandhi

Citing alleged irregularities in the voter list, Gandhi displayed 22 entries featuring the same stock photograph of a Brazilian model, Matheus Ferrero, who appeared multiple times under different names such as Seema, Sweety, and Saraswati. “She votes in 10 different booths in Haryana and has multiple names. This means this is a centralised operation,” he said.

He further claimed there were 100 voter IDs with the same woman’s photo in a single constituency and another image that appeared 223 times across two polling booths. Gandhi alleged that such duplication enabled outsiders to vote multiple times.

“This is the reason the Election Commission destroys CCTV footage of booths,” he said, accusing the poll body of failing to prevent electoral fraud.

Congress lost by narrow margins, says Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi said the Congress lost eight constituencies by extremely slim margins, including one by just 32 votes, with the total margin across these seats amounting to 22,779 votes. “This shows how close the election was and how manipulation changed the result,” he said.

The Congress leader alleged that 3.5 lakh names were deleted from Haryana’s voter list before the election. He demanded accountability from the Election Commission, saying it had the capability to remove duplicate entries instantly but chose not to.

Election Commission sources respond

Sources in the Election Commission refuted the claims and questioned why Congress polling agents did not raise objections on voting day. They added that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was meant to identify duplicate or invalid entries.

“Polling agents are supposed to object if a voter’s identity is doubtful. If Pawan Khera’s name appears in two states’ voter lists, does that mean he votes twice?” an official source asked.

In a sharp political jibe, the BJP has released an AI-generated video portraying top Karnataka Congress leaders — Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, Home Minister G Parameshwara, and PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi — in a game of musical chairs, symbolising the alleged tussle for the Chief Minister’s post.

BJP’s ‘musical chair’ satire targets Congress infighting

The animated video, shared by the BJP’s Karnataka unit, shows caricatures of the four Congress leaders circling a chair labelled “Chief Minister,” implying an ongoing power struggle within the ruling party. The post was captioned, “Countdown to the November Revolution!”, suggesting the opposition’s anticipation of a leadership change in the Congress-led government.

Background to leadership tensions

Speculation around a possible leadership switch in Karnataka has persisted since the Congress returned to power in 2023. While DK Shivakumar was considered a top contender for the CM post then, the party high command picked Siddaramaiah, with Shivakumar taking charge as Deputy Chief Minister and state party president.

Reports had hinted at a rotational chief ministership agreement, though this was never officially confirmed. Now, as the government crosses its halfway mark, Shivakumar’s supporters have been vocal about demanding their leader be given the top post.

Adding to the speculation, Siddaramaiah’s son and MLC Yathindra recently said that his father is in the “final phase of his political career,” hinting that the Chief Minister may soon take on a mentor’s role. He also praised Jarkiholi as a potential leader capable of upholding the Congress ideology — remarks interpreted as a signal to Shivakumar’s camp that the CM’s influence would remain strong even if he steps down.

Siddaramaiah dismisses talk of change

Responding to ongoing speculation, Siddaramaiah rejected any claims of a leadership transition, criticising the media for fuelling rumours. “Who in the high command — Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, or Mallikarjun Kharge — has spoken about this? Apart from the high command, others talking about this is insignificant,” he said, adding that discussions outside official channels carry no weight.

An encounter erupted between security forces and terrorists in the Chhatru area of Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district early Wednesday, following a joint intelligence-based operation launched by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the Indian Army, and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

Operation initiated after credible intelligence inputs

According to officials, the coordinated operation began in the early morning hours after security agencies received specific intelligence about the presence of terrorists in the region. As the forces advanced during the search, they came under fire, prompting a gun battle.

The White Knight Corps confirmed the development on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “Contact with terrorists established in an intelligence-based operation in concert with police in early morning hours today. Fire exchanged with terrorists. Operation is in progress.”

Security personnel have maintained a strong presence in the area as the encounter continues. Additional reinforcements have been positioned to ensure that no escape routes remain open for the militants.

Further updates are awaited as the operation remains ongoing.