Congress leader Pawan Khera on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of having an “understanding” with the Election Commission (EC), claiming BJP leader Anurag Thakur’s rapid access to voter data for two parliamentary constituencies was suspicious.
Khera contrasted the timelines, stating it took the Congress four to six months to compile data for one Assembly seat, whereas the BJP appeared to obtain information for two Lok Sabha constituencies almost instantly.
“It took us 4–6 months to bring forward this data of one Assembly constituency. They have brought out the data of two Parliamentary constituencies. How did they get it? This proves that they have an understanding with the EC,” Khera alleged, adding that Thakur may have accessed the “electronic voter list” directly, which he called “evidence of crime.”
He further claimed that by questioning voter rolls in Wayanad and Kannauj, the BJP had indirectly validated the Opposition’s allegations of irregularities in electoral lists. “Anurag Thakur and BJP are raising the same question on the EC that we had raised. So, they have proven what we said,” Khera said.
The Congress leader demanded that the BJP release the electronic voter list for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi constituency, asserting that if both sides acknowledged fake names in the rolls, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were held on flawed lists and should be annulled.
“When you say this is a fake voter list, we too are saying that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections were held on a fake voter list. So, the elections should be considered illegitimate and cancelled,” Khera said, urging all political parties to work towards a foolproof voter roll system.
Khera’s remarks followed Anurag Thakur’s press conference at the BJP headquarters, where the Union Minister hit back at Rahul Gandhi’s “vote theft” claims. Thakur accused Congress of laying the foundation of electoral malpractice in 1952 by defeating Dr. B.R. Ambedkar through “electoral fraud,” alleging that 74,333 votes were rejected while Ambedkar lost by just 14,561 votes.
Thakur also charged that the Gandhi family had a history of questioning the EC whenever they lost elections, citing remarks by former Prime Ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi’s shifting positions on electronic voting machines and ballot papers.
