The Bharatiya Janata Party has responded to Congress allegations of electoral misconduct with counter-accusations of their own, claiming that opposition leaders have secured parliamentary victories through the support of unauthorized voters while simultaneously questioning the legitimacy of Sonia Gandhi's voter registration timeline.

At a press conference held on Wednesday, BJP leader Anurag Thakur alleged that Congress and other opposition parties have benefited from what he termed "infiltrator voters" to win crucial seats. The allegations come as a direct response to Rahul Gandhi's recent claims of widespread electoral fraud, creating a heated exchange between India's two major political parties.

The BJP specifically criticized Congress for its opposition to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls currently being conducted by the Election Commission in Bihar. Thakur accused the Grand Old Party of engaging in divisive politics by focusing on specific demographic groups to secure their electoral base, suggesting this approach constitutes appeasement politics.

The saffron party presented alleged evidence of electoral irregularities in several high-profile constituencies, including instances of duplicate voter registrations, fraudulent addresses, age manipulation, and coordinated voting patterns. These allegations targeted seats held by prominent opposition figures, including Raebareli represented by Rahul Gandhi, Diamond Harbour constituency of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, and Kannauj seat held by Akhilesh Yadav.

The controversy intensified when BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya raised specific concerns about Sonia Gandhi's voter registration history. Malviya alleged that the former Congress president's name appeared on electoral rolls in 1980, which he claimed was three years before she obtained Indian citizenship while still holding Italian nationality.

According to the BJP's claims, Sonia Gandhi's name first appeared on the New Delhi parliamentary constituency's voter list during a revision process with January 1, 1980, as the qualifying date. The registration allegedly occurred at 1 Safdarjung Road, which served as the official residence of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, where other family members including Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Maneka Gandhi were already registered voters.

Malviya characterized this registration as a violation of electoral law, which requires Indian citizenship as a prerequisite for voter eligibility. He further alleged that following public criticism in 1982, Gandhi's name was removed from the rolls, only to be reinstated in 1983, which he claimed was still before her citizenship was formalized.

When approached for comment on these allegations, Congress MP Tariq Anwar suggested that responsibility lay with the Election Commission rather than with Sonia Gandhi herself, stating that the electoral authority had made the decision to include her name on the rolls.

The Gandhi family has not immediately responded to these specific allegations, while the controversy continues to escalate as part of a broader dispute between Congress and the Election Commission that began following Rahul Gandhi's explosive press conference on August 7.

During that earlier presentation, Gandhi had leveled serious accusations against the electoral process, claiming to possess evidence of systematic irregularities including mysterious voter additions, destruction of surveillance footage, fraudulent voter registrations, and the Election Commission's alleged refusal to share voter-related data. His allegations particularly focused on anomalies in states like Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The Election Commission subsequently requested that Rahul Gandhi provide his purported evidence under oath, to which he responded by suggesting that the commission could verify the information through its own records rather than requiring additional documentation from him.

This latest exchange represents an escalation in the ongoing confrontation between India's major political parties regarding electoral integrity, with both sides now presenting counter-allegations of misconduct. The controversy has brought renewed attention to voter registration processes and citizenship requirements, while highlighting the contentious relationship between political parties and electoral authorities.

The dispute occurs against the backdrop of the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar, which has become a focal point for disagreements about electoral roll accuracy and voter eligibility verification procedures across various states.