2025 Indian electoral controversy
| Part of Democratic backsliding in India | |
| Date | August 2025 – present |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Vote chori |
| Type | Politics of India |
| Cause | Alleged irregularities by the Election Commission of India |
| Motive | Alleged rigging of the 2024 Indian general election and state assembly elections |
| Perpetrator |
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On 1 August 2025, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, stated that his party, the Indian National Congress (INC), had found evidence of electoral fraud during the 2024 Indian general election. On 7 August, he alleged that the electoral rolls prepared by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Karnataka consisted of various discrepancies, and accused the commission of "vote chori" (vote theft) and indulging in systematic fraud, in collusion with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The ECI dismissed the claims and urged him to submit them through a signed declaration. On 17 August, Gyanesh Kumar, the chief election commissioner, added that the allegations must be filed under oath within seven days, failing which they would be deemed “baseless and invalid," citing Rule 20(3)(B) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 and no such affidavit was ever filed by Rahul Gandhi or Indian National Congress.
Since then, the opposition parties led by the INC have organised protests and social media campaigns over the ECI's revision of Bihar's electoral rolls. In reaction to the allegation, several members and affiliates of the BJP have defended the commission, while counter accusing the opposition parties of having indulged in electoral fraud themselves.