Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, recently stirred a political storm with the unveiling of what he termed the ‘H-Files’, a dossier purporting to expose massive voter manipulation in the Haryana assembly elections. In a high-voltage press conference, Gandhi presented what he claimed to be irrefutable proof of large-scale ‘vote chori’, alleging that 25 lakh votes were faked or manipulated with the direct collusion of the Election Commission (EC) and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The BJP, however, was quick to dismiss these revelations as yet another non-event, coining the jibe, “Why his atom bomb never explodes?” and questioning Gandhi’s credibility amid repeated, but never substantiated, allegations.
The Core of the ‘H-Files’ Allegations
Rahul Gandhi’s allegations are grave and unprecedented in their scale. He asserted that nearly 1 in 8 votes in Haryana were fake, with over 25 lakh fraudulent entries tilting the electoral outcome. The crux of his exposé centred around a bizarre claim: a Brazilian model’s stock photo, sourced from the site Unsplash, had appeared as the face of a voter who cast votes 22 times in 10 different booths under various names like Seema, Sweety, and Saraswati. According to Gandhi, this was not the work of local booth-level operatives but a “centralised operation,” implicating systematic manipulation at a state or even national scale.
He described five “categories” of vote theft in Haryana: duplicate entries, invalid addresses, bulk voters, misuse of Form 6 (voter additions), and misuse of Form 7 (deletions). These, he claimed, resulted in the deletion of over 3.5 lakh genuine voters and the surge of fake or duplicate votes, allegedly benefitting the BJP.
The BJP’s Counterattack: ‘Atom Bomb’ or Damp Squib?
The BJP’s response was scathing and swift. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju spearheaded the rebuttal with a pointed barb, “Rahul Gandhi says the atom bomb is going to explode, but why doesn’t his atom bomb ever explode?” He mocked Gandhi’s frequent threats of exposing bombshell evidence, arguing these have consistently failed to sway public or legal opinion. Rijiju added that the Congress’s electoral setbacks were the result not of fraud but of internal disunity, a view echoed by other senior leaders, such as Kumari Selja and Rao Narendra Singh, who have criticised the party’s lack of cohesion in Haryana.
The BJP also questioned why, if the fraud was so rampant, the Congress’s booth-level agents never filed official objections with the Election Commission at the time of voting. The EC itself echoed this sentiment, emphasising that no formal appeals had been filed regarding the alleged discrepancies.
Election Commission’s Reaction
The Election Commission of India (ECI) roundly rejected Gandhi’s allegations as “baseless.” In its official response, the ECI stated that the voter rolls were finalised in accordance with legal procedures and no verifiable complaints had been received regarding systemic fraud. They further pointed out that Congress’s own agents, who were present at the polls, had not lodged contemporaneous complaints about the supposed manipulation.
Context: A Pattern in Gandhi’s Claims?
Gandhi, for his part, has invoked the metaphor of an “atom bomb” or “hydrogen bomb”, indicative of explosive revelations, repeatedly over the past year. His September warning, following the Karnataka and Maharashtra elections, referenced even bigger exposés to come. According to Gandhi, irregularities in Haryana are merely one chapter in a broader story of “democracy being stolen” through central manipulation of voter rolls, allegedly orchestrated to ensure BJP victories across states.
BJP leaders and the Election Commission regard these regular dramatic exposés as politically timed distractions, especially notable with the release of the ‘H-Files’ coming just a day before the first phase of the Bihar assembly elections. Critics allege a pattern in Congress’s approach, where losing the polls is followed by charges of systematic rigging rather than introspection or a revamp of electoral strategy.
Disunity in Congress: A Self-Inflicted Wound?
The BJP has not missed any chance to highlight rifts within the Congress. According to Rijiju and other leaders, Congress’s defeat in Haryana can be squarely traced to intra-party disputes. Former Congress ministers and Haryana PCC chiefs have publicly lamented factionalism and a lack of on-the-ground coordination as reasons for the party’s declining fortunes. Rijiju quipped, “When their own leaders admit that they are losing because of themselves, and here Rahul Gandhi is saying that the vote was stolen and is abusing the Election Commission, who will believe him?”
Reports also suggest discontent within the ranks, with some Congress insiders reportedly expressing privately that the party has little chance of revival as long as Gandhi remains its public face.
The Impact and Political Fallout
Rahul Gandhi’s press conference was not just about state politics; the narrative attempted to build an argument that goes to the heart of India’s electoral democracy. By labelling the Haryana election a “theft” and accusing the EC and BJP of collusion, Gandhi upped the ante and sought to frame upcoming state and national polls in the context of legitimacy and institutional trust.
However, the impact remains limited without legal follow-through. The lack of formal election petitions or court challenges, beyond the press spectacle, makes it difficult for even the most explosive claims to stick or generate wider public resonance. The BJP’s portrayal of these exposés as “crying wolf” resonates with a segment of the electorate weary of repeated and unsubstantiated political crises.
Public Perception and the Road Ahead
Public reaction is sharply divided along political lines: Congress supporters view a whistleblower confronting institutional rot; BJP loyalists see a leader grasping at straws to justify an electoral defeat. Among neutral observers, scepticism abounds, particularly given the timing of such allegations and the absence of concrete legal actions.
The episode has again spotlighted the need for transparent handling of electoral rolls and robust mechanisms to address genuine grievances, if any. Equally, it underscores the importance of substantiating allegations, however sensational, with actionable evidence in order to restore public faith in the process.