Yogendra Yadav did not say Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote theft’ allegation lacked evidence; BJP’s claim baseless

by Oishani Bhattacharya

A minute-long video of political leader and activist Yogendra Yadav talking about Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote theft’ campaign has stirred a political storm. In the clip, Yadav says that the Congress leader’s campaign has been successful in reaching the grassroots level, and sowed seeds of doubt even amongst those on the fence.

Rahul Gandhi has held a series of press conferences since August detailing irregularities in voter lists and accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of partaking in ‘vote theft’ along with the BJP. His latest press conference was on September 18, where he alleged that an attempt was made to delete at least 6,018 voters from the electoral roll in 2023 in Karnataka’s Aland constituency. He held the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, responsible for ‘protecting’ those who might be involved in the alleged conspiracy.

In this regard, the video of Yadav’s comments on Gandhi’s ‘vote theft’ campaign, is being used by Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to suggest he “admitted” that the Congress leader’s allegations lacked any solid evidence and were just part of an elaborate scheme to tarnish the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

On September 21, BJP’s official X page (@BJP4India) shared the video and wrote: “Rahul Gandhi’s advisor Yogendra Yadav himself admitted — the entire ‘vote theft’ campaign is being run without any evidence. This is a conspiracy hatched to tarnish PM Modi’s image. Against vote theft, Rahul Gandhi is neither filing an affidavit, nor complaining to the Election Commission, nor approaching the court. The time has come to teach a lesson to those who do politics by misleading the public and telling lies!” (Archive)

In the clip, Yadav talks to a journalist from The Wire in Hindi. Roughly, what he said translates to: “For the first time, I’m feeling that the topic of ‘vote theft’ is penetrating the grassroots level. Ordinary people are saying, ‘Yes, something is wrong.’ Even BJP supporters — who will probably go and vote for the BJP again — are saying, ‘Something is fishy,’ because this has rattled even them. And that’s the point. To say ‘Go to court, give an affidavit’ is of no use because nothing will come of it. Public perception is in sync with this. And to that extent, Rahul Gandhi has been successful so far”. When the interviewer asks him who these voters are and what kind of people believe this theory, Yadav says: “There are two kinds of people. One, those who are suspicious of the BJP. They already believe something is amiss and doubt the party. But even those voters who were on the fence are now saying, ‘May be something’s wrong.’ The one sitting on the boundary wall — not jumping, just sitting. The one who says, ‘Yes, Modi ji is fine, but something’s not right, something is off.’ The ones who until yesterday were ready to fight you on WhatsApp over Modi ji’s name — today they’re quiet and not defending it.”

BJP IT cell chief, Amit Malviya, also posted the same clip on September 21 with claims that Yadav “openly admitted” that the “is being peddled only to sow seeds of doubt” and malign PM Modi. (Archive)

Several others on X, such as @rishibagree, @MrSinha_ and @BJP4Goa, also shared the clip claiming that it shows Yogendra Yadav “admitting” that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote theft’ allegations lacked evidence.

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Fact Check

We looked for the full interview shared on The Wire’s YouTube channel and found that the news outlet had shared it on September 19, 2025, a day after Rahul Gandhi’s presser on voter deletions in Karnataka’s Aland constituency. The 23-minute interview was hosted by Wire journalist Arfa Khanum Sherwani. At the beginning of the interview, she asks Yadav to summarise Rahul Gandhi’s press conference and vote theft allegations.

The part that is now viral begins at the 12:32-minute mark.

The journalist asks Yadav, “Four-five weeks back, Rahul Gandhi was talking about one constituency, now he’s talking about three constituencies… This way, it seems like it will take forever to figure out if it is the Election Commission that is committing fraud, or if it’s one officer, or someone from the BJP and in which regions this fraud is happening. Bihar’s election is coming up first, that’s right around the corner. And Rahul Gandhi — his ability as an opposition leader, he only has governments in two states. It all feels like some kind of childish game”.

To this, Yadav responds: “I don’t think so. Because look, where do you have to prove it? In court? You can’t prove it in court. It’s not possible. Given the state of the courts in the country right now — you can take hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, nothing will happen. Just look at what’s going on in the courts. In the end, you have to prove it in people’s court. Public perception. For the first time, I’m feeling that the topic of ‘vote theft’ is penetrating the grassroots level. Ordinary people are saying, ‘Yes, something is wrong.’ Even BJP supporters — who will probably go and vote for the BJP again — are saying, ‘Something is fishy,’ because this has rattled even them. And that’s the point. To say ‘Go to court, give an affidavit’ is of no use because nothing will come of it. Public perception is in sync with this. And to that extent, Rahul Gandhi has been successful so far.”

The interviewer then asks him, “And who are these voters? Which citizens are they? What kind of people believe this theory?”.

Yadav says, “There are two kinds of people. One, those who are suspicious of the BJP. They already believe something is amiss and doubt the party. But even those voters who were on the fence are now saying, ‘May be something’s wrong.’ The one sitting on the boundary wall — not jumping, just sitting. The one who says, ‘Yes, Modi ji is fine, but something’s not right, something is off.’ The ones who until yesterday were ready to fight you on WhatsApp over Modi ji’s name — today they’re quiet and not defending it.. In all their minds, the idea of vote theft has taken root. Look, I’ve been in public life. Twenty years ago, you’ll remember, in 2006, when Mamata Banerjee lost the Bengal election, she staged a sit-in protest. Not a single person came to support her. It totally fizzled out because public perception hadn’t formed. That was then. And today, the Leader of the Opposition in the country is going around saying ‘vote theft, vote theft’ and people are joining in.”

When one listens to Yadav’s full statement, it becomes fairly clear that his remark about ‘nothing will come out in court’ was made in the context of the lengthy timelines that have become common in the Indian judiciary. He did not say that Gandhi would avoid going to court because he could not prove his claims there. In fact, Yadav says that Gandhi’s vote theft’ claim is shaping public perception and making people, even those who are supporters of the BJP, question if such fraud is actually happening.

Hence, the BJP’s claim that Yogendra Yadav said that Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ campaign lacks evidence and will hence not be taken to court is baseless and presented out of context. It is a gross misinterpretation of what Yadav actually said.

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