‘Vote theft’ made BJP govt in Haryana: Hooda; Congress to gherao EC office
Former Haryana chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday accused the BJP of coming to power through “vote theft” and announced that the Haryana Congress would gherao the State Election Commission office in Chandigarh on Friday.
Girish Saini
Sep 25, 2026 10:17
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Rohtak, September 24, 2026: Former Haryana chief minister and Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Thursday accused the BJP of coming to power through “vote theft” and announced that the Haryana Congress would gherao the State Election Commission office in Chandigarh on Friday.
Hooda demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that the Election Commission had failed to provide satisfactory answers to questions raised by the Congress over the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections.
Addressing gatherings in villages including Polangi, Mungan, Humayunpur and Kansala in his Garhi Sampla-Kiloi constituency, Hooda alleged discrepancies in the voter turnout figures released after polling. He claimed the turnout was initially put at 61.19%, revised to 65.65% the next day and later increased to 67.9% ahead of counting.
“Why did the voting percentage keep increasing after polling ended?” Hooda asked, alleging that the Congress had sought an explanation from the Election Commission but was yet to receive one.
He also alleged large-scale irregularities in electoral rolls, citing instances of 501 voters registered at one address, 223 votes in the name of a single woman and 22 voter entries carrying the photograph of a foreign woman.
Hooda said the alleged discrepancies were not limited to seats where Congress candidates lost. “If there had been no such irregularities, Congress MLAs would have won with bigger margins,” he claimed.
Calling the allegations a threat to the democratic process, Hooda said the Congress would take the issue to the streets and raise it before every appropriate forum.
The Congress's allegations are political claims and were not independently established in Hooda's statement.
The protest will be held at the State Election Commission office in Chandigarh at 1 pm on Friday, Hooda said.
