Elections in India are being rigged, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar acted as “deshdrohis“ (traitors) by destroying the country’s votes, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi alleged on Thursday while demanding the immediate resignation of Mr. Kumar.
Mr. Gandhi said the CEC should turn an approver in the alleged ‘vote chori’ issue, as that would be an “act of nationalism”.
He said the alleged manipulation of elections is an attack on the nation, and Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah would be investigated for what they have done to the country.
“If tomorrow the BJP sweeps the national election, India will not believe it. So now we are heading to the point where public expression will not allow the BJP to get the type of majority they were getting,” Mr. Gandhi told The Hindu in response to a question on the Opposition’s option.
Follow LIVE updates, highlights from Rahul Gandhi’s press meet on September 24, 2026
The Opposition leader’s press conference came a day after The Indian Express had reported that two Election Commissioners (ECs), Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had major differences with the CEC and they formally objected 14 times in 10 months to decisions made in the name of the Election Commission.
The Congress Working Committee would meet on September 29 to discuss the way forward for the principal Opposition party on the issue of alleged ‘vote chori’.
Mr. Gandhi appreciated the dissent registered by the two ECs but asserted that it started after he had already held several press conferences. “They are, in a way, saying that the vote does not exist in India anymore,” he said.
“If the vote is destroyed, the Constitution is not functioning, laws are illegal, institutions mean nothing,” Mr. Gandhi said, adding, “I have shown it with proof, and let me tell you, there is already more than enough information to make this 100% certain — not 99%, 100% certain — that Indian elections, Lok Sabha elections, the 2024 election, Vidhan Sabha elections, are all being rigged.”
The Opposition leader claimed that since 1947, India has never found itself in a situation where the election system has been “fundamentally broken”.
“Without any doubt, both the Prime Minister and Amit Shah are at the top of this conspiracy, and they are going to be investigated for what they have done to this country. This is an act against the Indian state. This is an act against India’s people,” Mr. Gandhi alleged, adding, “We are not going to let democracy be destroyed and sit silent. Those responsible will be punished.”
To underscore his point, Mr. Gandhi played old video clips of the Home Minister in which he is seen saying that BJP workers should prepare to stay in power for the next 50 years. He also played a clip of Mr. Modi’s election slogan, “Abki baar 400 paar”, arguing that no political leader operating in a democratic environment could make such statements.
“In India, there is a fundamental force called anti-incumbency, which starts to resist, and it does not spare anybody,” Mr. Gandhi said, citing the examples of Indira Gandhi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh and Rajiv Gandhi. “It happens to leader after leader. It does not happen to Modi, Shah and the BJP — now we know the answer to it,” he said.
Mr. Gandhi said the vote was the foundation of democracy and that the Election Commission’s protection of the vote strengthened the Constitution, which enabled laws to be made and institutions to function.
“If the vote has been destroyed, then our Constitution has been destroyed; it no longer has the power. If the Constitution is destroyed, laws are illegal and our institutions are meaningless,” he said. “From ‘vote chori’, comes ‘kanoon [law] chori’ and from that comes ‘sanstha [institutions] chori’,” he added.
Mr. Gandhi said he had submitted a dissent note against the elevation of Mr. Kumar as the CEC, but it was disregarded.
Asked about young voters, he alleged that the BJP did not want Gen Z to get voting rights because it believed they would not vote for the party.
Published – September 24, 2026 06:09 pm IST
