Sonia Gandhi Listed as Voter Before Citizenship, Claims BJP Amid Vote Rigging Row

New Delhi: The BJP has accused Congress MP Sonia Gandhi of being listed on India’s electoral rolls three years before she became an Indian citizen, intensifying its counterattack over the Opposition’s voter fraud allegations in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Addressing a press conference, BJP MP and former Union Minister Anurag Thakur claimed that Sonia Gandhi, born in Italy as Edvige Antonia Albina Maino, was added to the voter list in 1980, despite acquiring Indian citizenship only in April 1983.

Thakur’s remarks echoed BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya, who posted a purported 1980 electoral roll from polling station 145 in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi, showing the names of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi. Malviya alleged that Sonia still held Italian citizenship at the time, violating provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which bars non-citizens from voter registration.

According to Malviya, Sonia Gandhi’s name was deleted from the rolls in 1982 following public criticism but was re-added in January 1983, months before she formally became an Indian citizen. He termed both inclusions “blatant electoral malpractice”.

The BJP’s attack comes after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that fake names were being added to voter lists in states such as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, accusing the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to “steal elections”.