Anurag Thakur fires at Rahul Gandhi over EVM blame
Synopsis
BJP MP Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur turned the EVM blame debate on its head on November 4, 2026, posting that the real flaw lies in Rahul Gandhi's policies and leadership — not in India's electronic voting machines.
Key Takeaways
Anurag Thakur , BJP Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh , attacked Rahul Gandhi over EVM blame in a November 4, 2026 post.
Thakur's post argued the fault lies in Gandhi's 'policies, leadership, and thinking,' not in EVMs.
Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders have previously cited EVM reliability concerns after electoral defeats.
The Election Commission of India has used EVMs in all parliamentary elections since 2004 , with VVPAT slips added from 2019 .
The BJP has consistently defended EVMs as tamper-proof and independently certified by the Election Commission.
The post was geo-tagged at Hamirpur , Thakur's Lok Sabha constituency, which he has held since 2008 .
Every election loss needs an explanation — and BJP MP Anurag Thakur from Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, has a sharp answer for the one Congress keeps reaching for. In a pointed post on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, Thakur turned the EVM debate back on the opposition with a single, cutting line.
Posting from Hamirpur, Thakur wrote: 'Khot Rahul Gandhi ki neetiyon, netritva aur soch mein hai, magar thhikra wo EVM par fodte hain' — 'The fault lies in Rahul Gandhi's policies, leadership, and thinking, but he shifts the blame onto EVMs.'
The EVM blame cycle and why BJP keeps hitting back
Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP and former party president, has repeatedly questioned the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines in the aftermath of electoral setbacks. The argument is a familiar one in Indian opposition politics — when votes don't add up in your favour, challenge the machine that counted them. Thakur's post cuts straight to the BJP's counter-thesis: the problem is political, not technological.
The Election Commission of India has deployed EVMs across all parliamentary constituencies since 2004, and introduced Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips from 2019 onwards as an added layer of transparency. The Commission has consistently maintained that the machines are tamper-proof and independently certified — a position the ruling BJP has echoed in every post-election cycle where the EVM question has resurfaced.
A pattern bigger than one post
Thakur's salvo reflects a broader strategic posture the BJP has held for years: frame EVM complaints not as legitimate democratic concerns but as a failure of introspection. The implicit argument is that a party unwilling to examine its own policies, leadership, and outreach will always need an external explanation for why voters walked away.
The Hindi word thhikra — literally a broken pottery shard, idiomatically meaning 'blame' — carries a folk edge that lands harder than a formal political statement. It signals that this is not a press-conference rebuttal; it is a street-level rhetorical jab designed to travel.
With state assembly cycles and future Lok Sabha polls on the horizon, the EVM conversation is unlikely to quieten. For now, Thakur has staked out the BJP's position in the plainest possible terms: fix the politics first, leave the machines alone.
Point of View
Forcing the opposition onto the defensive. By using colloquial Hindi — the word thhikra in particular — the message is calibrated for mass circulation, not just political circles. The post also signals that ahead of any future poll cycle, the ruling party will preemptively close the EVM escape hatch for the opposition. For Rahul Gandhi, the challenge is structural: every time the EVM argument resurfaces, it invites questions about whether Congress is doing the harder work of rebuilding organisational strength and policy appeal.
NationPress
4 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Anurag Thakur say about Rahul Gandhi and EVMs?
Thakur posted on November 4, 2026 that the fault lies in Rahul Gandhi's policies, leadership, and thinking — and that Gandhi deflects responsibility onto EVMs rather than examining his own political shortcomings.
Why does Rahul Gandhi blame EVMs after election losses?
Rahul Gandhi and several opposition leaders have raised doubts about Electronic Voting Machine reliability following electoral defeats, arguing the machines may be susceptible to manipulation — a charge the Election Commission and the BJP have consistently rejected.
Are Indian EVMs tamper-proof?
The Election Commission of India has maintained that EVMs are tamper-proof and independently certified. VVPAT slips have been added since 2019 to allow voters to verify their vote was recorded correctly.
Who is Anurag Thakur and where does he represent?
Anurag Thakur is a BJP Lok Sabha MP from Hamirpur constituency in Himachal Pradesh, which he has represented since 2008. He is a former Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, and Youth Affairs and Sports.
Since when has India used EVMs in elections?
The Election Commission of India deployed Electronic Voting Machines across all parliamentary constituencies starting in 2004, with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips introduced from the 2019 general elections onward.
