‘Failure Of Your Leadership’: War Of Words Between Rahul Gandhi, Kiren Rijiju Over Vote Theft Claims

Last Updated:May 06, 2026, 09:51 IST

In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi took a veiled dig at the saffron party and claimed that “seats are sometimes stolen through vote theft, sometimes entire governments."

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday reiterated his allegations of vote theft in the recently held assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal and termed the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) victory in these states a “theft" of the mandate, and a big step forward in the saffron party’s mission to “destroy" Indian democracy.

In a post on X, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition took a veiled dig at the saffron party and claimed that “seats are sometimes stolen through vote theft, sometimes entire governments." He further alleged that out of the BJP’s 240 Members of Parliament in the Lok Sabha, “roughly every sixth MP has won through vote theft.’

“Seats are sometimes stolen through vote theft, sometimes entire governments. Out of the 240 BJP MPs in the Lok Sabha, roughly every sixth MP has won through vote theft. It’s not hard to identify them – should we call them “infiltrators" in BJP’s own language?" he said.

He also questioned the mandate of last year’s Haryana assembly polls, stating that the “entire government" there was the result of manipulated electoral processes.

The Congress leader went on to accuse Election Commission of being compromised, alleging that it is “remote controlled" and engaged in tampering with voter lists and the broader electoral system.

“The institutions they keep in their pockets, the ones that tamper with voter lists and the electoral process – those themselves are “remote controlled. Their real fear is the truth. Because if fair elections were held, even today they couldn’t win 140 seats," he added.

Gandhi also claimed that the ruling party’s “real fear is the truth," asserting that under fair electoral conditions, the BJP would struggle to secure even 140 seats in Parliament.

Earlier on Monday, the Congress leader echoed similar claims, saying that assembly elections in Assam and West Bengal were “stolen" by the BJP with the support of the Election Commission.

“Assam and Bengal are clear cases of the election being stolen by the BJP with the support of the EC. We agree with Mamata ji. More than 100 seats were stolen in Bengal", he had said.

He said that he agrees with outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who refused to resign insisting that she has not lost the election despite the results, and claiming the verdict was the outcome of a “conspiracy".

Addressing a press conference after the outcome on Tuesday, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief claimed that her party had “morally" won and alleged that the verdict was influenced by force.

BJP Responds

Union Minister Kiren Rijiju responded to Rahul Gandhi’s allegations and accused the Congress of deflecting from its own political shortcomings. He said that repeated electoral setbacks faced by the Congress were a reflection of “failure of leadership" rather than systemic flaws in the electoral process.

Rijiju also raised concerns about what he described as the Congress party’s reliance on specific community-based electoral support. Citing examples from states such as Assam, Kerala, West Bengal, and Tamil Nadu, he claimed that a significant number of Congress-backed candidates from the Muslim community had secured victories, while non-Muslim candidates saw comparatively lower success rates.

Rijiju cautioned the Congress leadership against what he termed reducing communities to “vote banks," urging the party to adopt a more inclusive political approach. At the same time, he emphasized that criticism of government policies is a legitimate part of democratic discourse, but warned against undermining constitutional institutions.

“The more you attack constitutional authorities, the more you risk losing credibility," Rijiju said, in an apparent reference to recent opposition remarks targeting bodies like the Election Commission of India.

He further called on opposition leaders to “respect the mandate of the people," framing electoral outcomes as a clear expression of democratic will.

Assembly Polls Results

These remarks came after the BJP secured a decisive victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, winning 206 seats- well past the two-thirds majority mark- and bringing an end to Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) 15-year rule. For the first time in decades, West Bengal is poised to be governed by the same party that holds power at the Centre, a development likely to have far-reaching administrative and political consequences.

The BJP, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, romped home to victory in Assam, increasing its tally to 82 seats, compared to 60 in 2021. Along with its allies, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 102 seats. The Opposition Congress was further humbled, its tally plunging to 19 compared to the previous election’s 29.

(With inputs from agencies)

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