Brazilian model votes in Indian polls, Rahul Gandhi reveals

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The leader of the Congress party of India, Rahul Gandhi, has alleged large-scale election rigging in Haryana, claiming that the photograph of a Brazilian model appears 22 times in the voter list for Haryana’s Rai Assembly seat.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made a fiery claim during a press conference where he displayed the image of a woman on a huge screen.After asking everyone present at the event to identify the woman, Rahul Gandhi stunned the audience by revealing she was a Brazilian model.He claimed the image was used under fake identities to collect votes during the Haryana polls, asserting this was part of a centralised operation. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Congress (@incindia)He further stated that the woman’s image had appeared around 22 times across 10 different polling booths, using multiple names, including Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, and Vimla, among others.“She’s one of the 2.5 million such records in Haryana, which further supports the existence of a centralised operation,” he added.According to a news report, the image was sourced from a website that provides access to stock images. The picture of the woman was taken by a photographer named Matheus Ferrero.The image has been downloaded more than 0.4 million times and viewed over 5.9 million times.The Haryana Assembly polls, held on October 5, 2024, saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secure a victory, winning 48 seats in the 90-member Assembly, while the Indian National Congress (INC) won 37 seats.This outcome defied exit polls, which had predicted a decisive win for the Congress. The BJP’s win marked its third consecutive term in the state.The Congress party, however, has been disputing the election results, citing irregularities in certain districts and concerns over Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).Party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Bhupinder Singh Hooda, have alleged large-scale voter fraud and manipulation. Rahul Gandhi claimed that 25 lakh votes were “fake” and presented what he termed as the “H files,” which included allegations of duplicate voters, invalid addresses, and bulk voters.The Election Commission of India has countered these allegations, stating that no appeals were filed against the electoral rolls in Haryana and questioning why Congress’ booth agents didn’t flag voters who allegedly cast multiple votes.The Commission also highlighted the transparency in the electoral process, emphasizing that no deletion of votes can happen without giving the affected person an opportunity to be heard.