The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday, 9 October 2026, accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of politicising his delegation's meeting with President Droupadi Murmu and dragging the country's highest constitutional office into a partisan narrative. The party issued a five-point challenge to the Congress, demanding the opposition substantiate its allegations of 'vote chori' and electoral irregularities before the public.

BJP's Core Accusation

Addressing reporters in New Delhi, BJP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said Gandhi's remarks following the INDIA bloc delegation's meeting with the President appeared driven more by political considerations than factual evidence. Trivedi maintained that only those physically present at the meeting could accurately represent what had transpired, and questioned Gandhi's claim that President Murmu had responded positively to the delegation's allegations.

Drawing a pointed historical parallel, Trivedi recalled that Gandhi had previously tendered an unconditional apology in court over statements linking the Supreme Court to the 'Chowkidar Chor Hai' slogan during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He alleged Gandhi was now making similar unsubstantiated claims — this time in the name of the President — to advance his party's political agenda.

The Electoral Rolls and EVM Allegations

Trivedi also questioned the internal coherence of the Congress's twin allegations: one targeting Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and another targeting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He argued that the two lines of attack were logically contradictory and could not simultaneously hold true, accusing the party of deliberately creating confusion around the electoral process.

The BJP spokesperson further asked whether Congress's Booth Level Agents (BLAs) had verified voter lists during recent by-elections and whether party polling agents had been present at polling stations and counting centres. He questioned whether the Congress had raised any formal objections during the electoral process and urged the party to seek CCTV footage within the stipulated 45-day window rather than citing an expired deadline later.

Silchar Municipal Polls Cited as Counter-Evidence

In a bid to undercut the Congress's broader narrative on electoral manipulation, Trivedi cited the Silchar Municipal Corporation elections in Assam, which were conducted using ballot papers rather than EVMs. He noted that the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) allies had won 34 of the 42 seats in that contest. Trivedi argued the result contradicted the opposition's claims that electoral outcomes were being engineered through technological or administrative means.

BJP's Five Questions to Congress

Trivedi formally posed five questions to the Congress party:

First: Did the Congress verify electoral rolls during the by-elections and raise any objections or file complaints regarding them?

Second: Were Congress representatives present during polling and counting, and did they raise objections to any aspect of the CCTV-recorded process?

Third: Will the party seek CCTV footage or other relevant information within the stipulated 45-day period?

Fourth: What evidence supports Gandhi's account of what the President said during the delegation's meeting?

Fifth: Are the EVM manipulation allegations correct, or are the SIR-related irregularity allegations correct — given that both claims cannot simultaneously be true?

Broader Pattern and What Comes Next

This is not the first time the BJP has accused the Congress of targeting constitutional institutions following electoral setbacks. Trivedi reiterated that Gandhi and the Congress must present verifiable evidence rather than use unsubstantiated allegations for political mobilisation. The opposition has not yet formally responded to the BJP's five-point questionnaire, and the political sparring over the SIR process and EVMs is expected to intensify as state election cycles approach.