Kumar Bahukhandi
File Photo of BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya and veteran Congress leader Sonia Gandhi- Credi -PTI
BJP’s Amit Malviya alleges Sonia Gandhi was registered as an Indian voter before obtaining citizenship, citing 1980 and 1983 electoral rolls. Congress dismisses the claims, blaming the Election Commission.
The BJP on Wednesday escalated its attack on the Congress, with its IT Cell chief Amit Malviya alleging that Sonia Gandhi was registered as an Indian voter years before she obtained citizenship. The charge came amid the Congress’ criticism of alleged voter roll irregularities and its opposition to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
Malviya took to X, claiming Sonia Gandhi’s “tryst with India’s voters’ list is riddled with glaring violations of electoral law” — a situation he linked to Rahul Gandhi’s “fondness for regularising ineligible and illegal voters” and opposing the SIR.
Sonia Gandhi ‘On Voter List While Holding Italian Citizenship’: Malviya Alleges
According to Malviya, Gandhi’s name first appeared on the electoral rolls in 1980 — three years before she became an Indian citizen, while she still held Italian nationality. At the time, the Gandhi family was living at 1, Safdarjung Road, the then residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Malviya said the New Delhi constituency rolls were revised with 1 January 1980 as the qualifying date, and her name was added at serial number 388 in polling station 145. “This entry was a clear violation of the law, which mandates Indian citizenship for voter registration,” he alleged.
He added that the name was deleted in 1982 after public criticism but reappeared in 1983 — this time at serial number 236 in polling station 140 — with 1 January 1983 as the qualifying date, months before she was granted citizenship on 30 April 1983. “In other words, Sonia Gandhi’s name entered the electoral rolls twice without meeting the basic citizenship requirement — first in 1980 as an Italian citizen, and then again in 1983, months before she legally became a citizen of India,” he said.
Malviya also questioned why she took 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi to accept Indian citizenship, asking: “If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?” He posted what he said was an extract from the 1980 rolls.
Former Union Minister Anurag Thakur echoed the allegation, saying Gandhi — born Sonia Maino in Italy in 1946 — was listed from 1980 to 1982, before she was a citizen. Thakur also targeted Rahul Gandhi over his past allegations of voter fraud in Maharashtra and Karnataka, accusing him of “lying (and) presenting incorrect numbers.”
Congress Pins Responsibility on Poll Body
The Congress dismissed the allegations, insisting Sonia Gandhi had never sought voter registration. Tariq Anwar told NDTV, “See… the Election Commission is responsible. Sonia Gandhi did not say ‘my name should be included in the voter registration list’. In the end it was the Election Commission that included her…”
He stressed that she never made a request to be added, and rejected the suggestion that the then Congress-led Centre pressured the poll panel. “The Election Commission is an independent organisation… it is a constitutional organisation… and it takes its own decisions,” he said.
Anwar also alleged that the poll body has now “become a part of the BJP” and urged it to “come out of that and should work independently.”
Broader Fight Over Voter Rolls
The spat comes against the backdrop of a larger battle over alleged voter fraud in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and now Bihar. Rahul Gandhi has accused the BJP and the Election Commission of enabling large-scale irregularities, claiming over 1.02 lakh illegal votes — including 80 from the same one-room house in Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura — were counted in last year’s polls, costing the Congress a Lok Sabha seat.
The party has also alleged that more than one crore names were added to Maharashtra’s rolls after the BJP-led alliance lost the Lok Sabha election, ahead of its victory in the Assembly polls four months later.
In Bihar, the opposition has warned that the ongoing SIR is designed to disenfranchise lakhs of voters likely to back them. The matter is before the Supreme Court.
The Election Commission has firmly rejected all such claims, defending its processes as transparent and fair, and challenging Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed affidavit with proof. The BJP has accused him of “maligning a constitutional body,” while Home Minister Amit Shah said the Congress was already preparing an “excuse for defeat” in Bihar. “You keep losing election after election… and now you are looking for an excuse for defeat even before this election,” he said at a rally.
(Source -PTI)
