Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stunned political circles on November 5, 2025, with his third “vote chori” press conference at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, alleging a massive electoral conspiracy in the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections. Flashing voter IDs bearing what he claimed was a Brazilian model’s photo used 22 times under different names like “Seema,” “Sweety,” and “Saraswati,” Gandhi accused the BJP and Election Commission of India (ECI) of orchestrating 25 lakh fake votes—nearly 12% of the state’s electorate.

He asserted this “Operation Sarkar Chori” stole eight crucial seats by narrow margins, including a 22,779-vote swing, and warned of a similar plot in Bihar’s ongoing 2025 polls. “This is not just Haryana—it’s a threat to democracy,” he declared, urging young voters to stay vigilant as Phase 1 voting began on November 6.

But within hours, the narrative cracked. India Today TV tracked down two women from Machroli village in Sonipat whose voter IDs were displayed as evidence. Both denied any wrongdoing, revealing the photos were long-standing clerical errors, not proof of fraud. Pinky Juginder Kaushik, 42, said: “I cast my vote myself in 2024 using my voter slip and Aadhaar card—there’s no vote chori here.” She explained that years ago, her EPIC arrived with another local woman’s photo. “We returned it immediately, but the corrected card never came. I’ve been requesting rectification ever since,” she added. Her brother-in-law, Juginder Singh, dismissed the allegations as “pure propaganda,” confirming agents from all parties saw her vote in person.

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The second case involved Munish Devi, 55, whose family now lives in urban Sonipat but votes at their ancestral home. Her brother-in-law, Ramesh Kumar, told reporters: “We all went together—mother, sister-in-law, everyone voted. The election office called today; I’ve sent her card for verification.” He recalled a prior incident where Munish’s photo was mistakenly swapped with a neighbor’s, briefly blocking her at the booth until verification cleared her. “This is a data entry mistake by operators, not fraud. We’ve never sold votes,” he stressed.

Both errors trace back to Form 6 submissions and Booth Level Officer (BLO) lapses during voter roll updates—common in rural areas with high illiteracy and rushed digitization. The ECI swiftly rejected Gandhi’s claims, stating no formal appeals were filed against Haryana’s rolls and only 22 election petitions remain pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court—none proven. A spokesperson noted that photo mismatches, while inconvenient, do not invalidate votes when verified with Aadhaar or slips, as happened here.

The BJP pounced, with Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini mocking: “If models are voting for us, maybe Congress should field Bollywood stars next time!” National spokespersons labeled it a “desperate deflection” from Congress’s failure to convert exit poll hype into seats. As Bihar votes today, the episode risks eroding opposition credibility unless concrete proof—beyond clerical glitches—emerges. With digital voter systems under scrutiny nationwide, this saga highlights the fragile line between administrative error and alleged conspiracy in India’s vast electoral machinery.

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