Varanasi: Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai on Sunday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of manipulating the 2024 Varanasi Lok Sabha election to secure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory, claiming it was a case of “winning through vote theft” rather than genuine public mandate.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress office in Varanasi, Rai alleged that the election was marred by large-scale voter list manipulation, misuse of government machinery, and the inclusion of fake voters. “The truth is that he did not win, but was made to win. The 2024 Kashi election has made a mockery of the democratic process,” Rai said.
Rai himself had contested against PM Modi in the Varanasi seat. According to Rai, early trends showed Modi trailing in the initial rounds of counting, but as counting progressed, the results shifted dramatically. Ultimately, Rai lost to the Prime Minister by a margin of around 1.5 lakh votes — a margin he claims was secured through “ballot theft and manipulation.”
Citing an example, Rai claimed that a voter named ‘Vishal Singh’ was listed in both Karnataka and Kashi electoral rolls and cast his ballot at Nivedita Shiksha Sadan Balika Inter College in Tulsi Pur, under the Cantonment Assembly constituency. “There are thousands of such bogus voters, mostly BJP-RSS workers, who travel to different areas to vote multiple times,” he alleged.
Rai said the BJP had ironically launched a toll-free number and website to report fake voters, but the administration “acted dishonestly” to ensure the Prime Minister’s victory. He referred to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s claim that there was concrete evidence of fake names being added to voter lists in Varanasi and that people from outside the state were brought in to vote.
“The Congress is openly protesting against vote theft across Uttar Pradesh — from the streets to the floor of the House — and we have exposed the BJP’s entire modus operandi,” Rai said.
Rai alleged that the government prepared fake voter lists and deployed RSS workers to manipulate results. “The BJP wins Lok Sabha and Assembly seats by lakhs of votes through this fraud. If there were fair elections, the BJP would struggle even to win a municipal councillor’s seat,” he said.
He further claimed that the entire operation took place under the Election Commission’s watch. “Officials remained unaware, or chose to remain so. The Commission is refusing to provide digital copies of voter lists to the Opposition, despite us submitting solid data and evidence. Instead, it is asking the Opposition to submit affidavits,” Rai said.
‘Fraud on democracy and the Constitution’
Calling it “the biggest betrayal of democracy and the Constitution,” Rai said the BJP deployed its full political machinery in Varanasi, including several state chief ministers, governors, and the entire Union Cabinet. “Money flowed like water, and the full might of power was used. BJP leaders boasted of winning by 10 lakh votes, but in the end, Modi barely scraped through by around 1.5 lakh votes after stealing ballots,” he claimed.
Rai thanked the 4.6 lakh voters of Kashi who supported Congress, pledging that the party would continue to fight for people’s rights. “Those who gave the false promise of ‘achhe din’ will see their bad days soon. We pledge to protect democracy and the Constitution,” he said.
