Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi claimed the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections were stolen, citing irregularities including a house in Hodal with 66 voters, another with 501, and a Brazilian woman's stock photo allegedly used 22 times at 10 booths in Rai. However, investigations by The Indian Express found different facts on the ground. In Hodal, the two addresses turned out to be large family plots housing multiple homes and generations. All registered voters were real family members who had cast their ballots without issues. In Rai, four women whose voter ID photos allegedly matched the Brazilian national were tracked down. All had voted successfully and were unaware of any problem until Gandhi raised the issue. The properties in question had legitimate explanations: extended families living on ancestral land with a single house number, and women who voted using voter slips despite photo mismatches that were unrelated to any foreign national.
Large Family Plots Explain High Voter Numbers in Hodal
At house number 150 in Gudhrana village, BJP zila parishad vice-chairperson Umesh Gudhrana's extended family resides on a five-acre plot where four generations live together. Relatives explained that their ancestors moved there 80 years ago, and as the family grew, individual houses were built on the land, all sharing the same house number. At house number 265, initially claimed to have 501 voters, the land originally belonged to one family but now contains 200 houses and three schools. Residents who purchased plots there also use the same house number. Multiple voters confirmed they voted in the Assembly elections without problems. Congress candidate Udai Bhan lost to BJP's Harinder Singh by 2,595 votes in Hodal.
Women in Rai Voted Despite Photo Discrepancies
In Rai, The Indian Express contacted four women whose voter roll photos allegedly matched a Brazilian national. Homemaker Sweety voted using her 2012 voter card without issues. Manjeet and Darshana Joon also voted normally; Joon's daughter showed a 2019 voter ID with the correct photograph. Pinki from Machhraula village had received a voter ID with another local resident's photo, not a foreign national. She returned it to the ASHA worker and voted twice using a voter slip and Aadhaar card. The current booth-level officer was appointed recently and unaware of the issue. Congress candidate Jai Bhagwan Antil lost by 4,673 votes and claimed the BJP won with fake votes.
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