Congress holds protest march to Haryana Assembly against 'vote theft'

Chandigarh, Aug 25 (PTI) Congress leaders in Haryana on Monday held a protest march to the Vidhan Sabha to amplify the party's allegation of "vote theft" against the BJP and the Election Commission.

Senior leaders of the party's Haryana unit and MLAs who were carrying placards and raising slogans walked what was a short distance to the assembly after assembling near a roundabout.

The 'vote chor, gaddi chhod (vote thief, step down)' march was led by Haryana Congress president Udai Bhan.

Senior leaders such as Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Raghuvir Singh Kadian, B B Batra, Aftab Ahmed, Geeta Bhukkal, as well as younger MLAs, Aditya Surjewala, Jassi Petwar, Balram Dangi and Vikas Saharan, also took part in the march. The Haryana Assembly is currently in session.

Interacting with reporters during the foot march, Hooda claimed the BJP government at the Centre is scared by the revelations made by the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi has given elaborate details backed with proper evidence and it is the EC's job to respond with facts but it has failed, Hooda said.

"Instead of giving answers, EC is asking Rahul ji to give a signed declaration. We are saying that first the EC should give an affidavit that there is no duplicate votes and there was no anomaly," Hooda said, claiming that the poll results in last year's assembly polls in Haryana were "against the wishes of the people".

Notably, the BJP returned to power in Haryana for the third consecutive time. "While talking about some other states, Rahul Gandhi has also mentioned Haryana," he said.

On the day of counting of votes in the 2024 Haryana polls, he said that "till 11:45 pm, the voting was 61.65 per cent. But it rose to 67.90 per cent in 72 hours... What happened? Have you ever heard something like this? "How did 7 per cent of votes increase in 72 hours? Do they have any answer?" he asked.

Responding to a question, Hooda said, "Polling should be held through ballot papers. Many countries are returning to ballot paper polling." "Our protest is 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' and they will have to vacate the seat. People are now aware of it. Our leader Rahul Gandhi ji is strongly raising this issue in the entire country, "said another Congress leader.

Gandhi recently claimed that the difference between winning and losing the Haryana elections for the Congress was 22,779 votes in the state, suggesting that the results would be different if not for "vote theft".

A fortnight ago, the Haryana chief electoral officer (CEO) asked Gandhi to furnish documents within 10 days in support of his claims about anomalies in the electoral rolls used in the assembly polls.

"This is to draw your kind attention to this office communication dated August 9, 2025, referring to the statements made by you during the press conference held on August 7, 2025, pertaining to the alleged inclusion of ineligible electors and exclusion of eligible electors in the electoral rolls of Haryana," stated the Haryana CEO's communication to the Congress leader earlier.

Gandhi had been asked to furnish the particulars of the electors concerned, along with the "duly signed declaration/oath under Rule 20 (3) (b) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

After Rahul Gandhi levelled allegations of 'vote chori' in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and several opposition leaders flagged issues about the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had on August 17 asked the Congress leader to either apologise or back his claims with a signed affidavit as required under electoral rules.

Amid a row over Congress's 'vote theft' allegations targeted at the ECI and BJP, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday said, "When they (Congress) used to lose polls, they used to blame EVMs. Then he (Rahul Gandhi) started roaming with a copy of the Constitution.

"This time, he is now raising the vote theft issue. They keep bringing such issues." Slamming the Congress, Saini added that vote thefts "used to take place during their time" but now everything is transparent. PTI SUN SKY SKY