The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday (September 24, 2026) hit back at the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, calling him a “master of deception” with “zero political knowledge”, while responding to his allegations about “vote theft” and other election-related issues.

At a press conference, BJP MP and spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the Congress leader’s accusations lacked credible evidence. Countering Mr. Gandhi’s charge that every leader and party faced anti-incumbency except Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Mr. Trivedi said: “It is correct that anti-incumbency definitely is very consistent and strong against the Congress. The Congress has not returned to power in Tamil Nadu since 1967 and since 1977 in West Bengal, where there was a Communist government for 34 years… then Mamata Banerjee formed three governments.”

He said the Congress has not returned to power in Bihar since 1990; in Uttar Pradesh – the home State of the Gandhi family – there has been no Congress government since 1989; and since 1999, it has not formed a government in Odisha, where the BJD ruled continuously for 25 years. “After Rahul ji and Sonia ji came, the Congress is facing more anti-incumbency,” he said, citing the examples of Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

“Definitely, during the era when the Congress also had governments for a long period of time, there were no voter ID cards, booth capturing used to take place, ballot boxes were looted, bullets were fired… in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, there was hardly an election when some people were not killed and injured. Even then, anti-incumbency did not work against the Congress,” said Mr. Trivedi.

He alleged that the Congress had now been struggling to return to power as elections had become more transparent, with the process monitored through CCTV cameras, Central paramilitary forces deployed instead of local police, and an independent media and judiciary.

“In reality, today anti-incumbency for the Congress and the Gandhi family has become so strong that they cannot win their own seat without the help of their ally,” he said, alleging that Mr. Gandhi and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra won Kerala’s Wayanad seat with the Muslim League’s support, and Amethi and Rae Bareli seats in Uttar Pradesh with the help of the Samajwadi Party.

Questioning the basis of a news report about communications between the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners, Mr. Trivedi asked whether there was any evidence that any decision in the Election Commission of India had not been taken unanimously.

He said the Special Intensive Revision process is authorised under the Representation of the People Act, arguing that voter lists needed proper verification to determine voter eligibility, particularly in areas impacted by “demographic change”. He also questioned whether an 18-year-old without any family records or documents should be allowed to become a voter without verification.

“In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress got its biggest victory from Assam’s Dhubri seat, where the party’s Rakibul Hasan won by 10.25 lakh votes,” he said, stating that Dhubri had undergone major demographic changes over the past 20-25 years.