BJP’s GVL Narasimha Rao Refutes Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Vote Chori’ Claims, Highlights Congress Decline Over Decades

New Delhi: BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao dismissed Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of “vote chori,” arguing that historical election trends reveal a long-term decline of the Congress party, independent of any alleged electoral bias. According to Rao, the Congress reached its peak in the 1984 Lok Sabha elections, when Rajiv Gandhi secured a landslide victory with 49.1% vote share and 404 out of 543 seats. Since then, the party’s popular support steadily eroded over three decades, culminating in its worst-ever performance in 2014, winning only 44 seats with a 19.5% vote share.

Rao further noted that during the UPA government, with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi were the real decision-makers, implying that Congress’ claims that the Election Commission of India conspired against it before 2014 are unfounded. He emphasized that the decline of Congress began in 1989, long before Narendra Modi became Prime Minister, and continued until 2014.

Rao also pointed out that while multiple factors and parties contributed to Congress’ decline over three decades, Modi’s leadership in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections dealt the “final blow,” followed by repeated electoral defeats in 2019 and 2024, cementing BJP’s dominance.