The BJP has alleged that Sonia Gandhi's name was registered in the voter list even before she became an Indian citizen in 1980. Anurag Thakur and Amit Malviya called it a serious electoral malpractice. The Congress dismissed it as a 45-year-old issue and said that it is a conspiracy to divert attention. The issue has cropped up at a time when the Congress is accusing the BJP of vote rigging in the recent elections.

The BJP has made a serious allegation against former Congress president Sonia Gandhi that her name was included in the voter list even before she became an Indian citizen. The party claims that this incident took place 45 years ago, when Sonia Gandhi's name was in the voter list of Delhi from 1980 to 1982, while she got Indian citizenship in 1983. This allegation has come at a time when the Congress is accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of 'vote theft' in last year's elections.

Former Union minister Anurag Thakur claimed that Sonia Gandhi, born in Italy in 1946, came to India in 1968 after marrying Rajiv Gandhi. After this, her name was included in the voter list of New Delhi parliamentary constituency before the 1980 Lok Sabha elections. Thakur said that this was a violation of rules as a person's name can be included in the voter list only if he is an Indian citizen. BJP leader Amit Malviya also shared an alleged excerpt of the 1980 voter list on social media and termed it a 'clear electoral malpractice'

Sonia Gandhi’s tryst with India’s voters’ list is riddled with glaring violations of electoral law. This perhaps explains Rahul Gandhi’s fondness for regularising ineligible and illegal voters, and his opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Her name first appeared… pic.twitter.com/upl1LM8Xhl

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 13, 2025

Claim of name removal and re-inclusion
BJP says that after protests, Sonia Gandhi's name was removed from the voter list in 1982, but was re-included in 1983. It is alleged that this was also against the rules because the date of getting citizenship that year was April, while the last date for adding a name in the voter list was January 1. Linking this issue to the recent 'voter fraud' allegations against Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, Thakur said that Rahul Gandhi is lying and presenting wrong figures.

Calling these allegations politically motivated, the Congress said that the BJP is raising a 45-year-old issue to avoid answering current issues. Party sources termed the allegations as unnecessary and said that this is an attempt to divert the attention of the public. However, the party has not given a formal response to Anurag Thakur's allegations.

The war on voter fraud is going on. In the last one week, Congress has accused Karnataka and Maharashtra of large-scale voter fraud. Rahul Gandhi claims that 1.02 lakh fake votes were counted from one assembly constituency in Karnataka, out of which 80 votes were linked to a single small room. In Maharashtra, too, there are allegations of more than one crore voters being added to the list. Regarding the 'Special Intensive Revision' going on in Bihar, the opposition has warned that it is a conspiracy to remove their voters. The Election Commission has completely rejected these allegations and has challenged the Congress to present its claims in an affidavit, along with asking for proof.

PC:Amar Ujala