The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has ignited a political firestorm by alleging that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi was illegally added to India’s voter list in 1980, three years before she acquired Indian citizenship in 1983. BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya claimed that Gandhi, then an Italian citizen living at 1, Safdarjung Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was listed as a voter in the New Delhi parliamentary constituency at serial number 388 in polling station 145 during the 1980 electoral roll revision. “This was a clear violation of the law, which mandates Indian citizenship for voter registration,” Malviya stated on X, sharing a purported photocopy of the 1980 roll.

Malviya further alleged that after public outcry led to Gandhi’s name being removed in 1982, it reappeared in the 1983 roll at serial number 236 in polling station 140, despite the January 1, 1983, qualifying date—months before her April 30 citizenship approval. “If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?” he questioned, suggesting the Congress’s opposition to Bihar’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) stems from a history of such violations. Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur echoed these claims, accusing Congress of relying on “ghuspaithi voters” (infiltrator voters) in constituencies like Raebareli.

Congress leader Tariq Anwar countered, asserting that Sonia Gandhi never requested inclusion on the voter list. “The Election Commission is responsible. Sonia Gandhi did not ask for her name to be added,” Anwar told NDTV, emphasizing the poll body’s independence as a constitutional entity. He rejected suggestions of pressure from the Congress-led government of the time, stating, “The Election Commission takes its own decisions.” Anwar also accused the BJP of undermining the Election Commission’s autonomy today.

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The controversy is part of a broader clash over alleged voter fraud. Congress, led by Rahul Gandhi, has accused the BJP and Election Commission of colluding to manipulate voter lists in Karnataka and Maharashtra, citing over 1.02 lakh “stolen” votes in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency and a sudden surge of one crore voters in Maharashtra post-2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP has dismissed these claims, with Home Minister Amit Shah mocking Congress for preemptively seeking excuses for an anticipated Bihar election loss. The Election Commission, defending its transparency, demanded Rahul Gandhi substantiate his allegations with a signed affidavit, accusing Congress of misleading the Supreme Court in past cases.

As the debate intensifies ahead of Bihar’s polls, the SIR process—requiring 11 identity documents compared to seven previously—has become a flashpoint, with the Supreme Court calling it “voter-friendly” despite opposition concerns of disenfranchisement. The BJP’s allegations against Sonia Gandhi have reignited scrutiny of historical electoral practices, escalating tensions between the two parties.

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