No Anti-Incumbency Today? BJP Snubs Rahul Gandhi's "Vote Chori" Charge

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit back at Rahul Gandhi's latest allegations of "vote chori", rejecting his argument that the "disappearance" of anti-incumbency in several states is evidence of manipulation of elections and accused the Congress leader of lacking basic understanding of India's electoral history.

BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi responded to the Leader of the Opposition's press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, in which Gandhi levelled serious allegations against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, following a report by the Indian Express. 

The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including matters relating to the revision of electoral rolls. 

Trivedi questioned the Congress leader's claim that anti-incumbency had somehow disappeared in states where the BJP or its allies have repeatedly remained competitive.

"Just a short while ago, Rahul Gandhi once again presented a PPT before you, which usually comes from some unknown, conspicuous, and dubious sources that nobody knows," Trivedi claimed.

"He has no knowledge of Indian politics. Congress has not been in power in Tamil Nadu since 1967. BJP didn't exist back then. In Bengal, there has been no Congress government since 1977. In Bihar, there has been no Congress government since 1990. In UP, Congress has not been in power since 1989. Since 1999, Congress has not been in power in Odisha. Rahul Gandhi has no knowledge of this... Ever since transparent elections have taken place, CCTV cameras have come in, and independent media has arrived, they've started finding it difficult to come to power," the Rajya Sabha MP added. 

The political confrontation comes against the backdrop of a fresh dispute over the functioning of the Election Commission and the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to the September 23 Indian Express report, the objections by Sandhu and Joshi reportedly covered issues including voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, appeals concerning electoral rolls and changes to Form 6.

The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that these exchanges represented a formal split or dissent within the three-member constitutional body. It has said that all its decisions over the past year, including those relating to SIR, were unanimous.