New Delhi: Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi was arrested Monday while leading a protest march against alleged voter fraud in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Gandhi, a senior figure in the Indian National Congress (INC), was detained along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other Members of Parliament (MPs) as they marched toward the Election Commission of India (ECI) office.
"This fight is not political... it is to save the Constitution. The fight is for 'one person, one vote'," Gandhi told NDTV as police escorted him away.
According to Joint Commissioner of Police Deepak Purohit, the group did not have the necessary permission to organize a protest of that scale. He stated that only 30 MPs were authorized to proceed to the ECI office to lodge a complaint.
आज जब हम चुनाव आयोग से मिलने जा रहे थे, INDIA गठबंधन के सभी सांसदों को रोका गया और हिरासत में ले लिया गया।
वोट चोरी की सच्चाई अब देश के सामने है।यह लड़ाई राजनीतिक नहीं - यह लोकतंत्र, संविधान और ‘एक व्यक्ति, एक वोट’ के अधिकार की रक्षा की लड़ाई है।
एकजुट विपक्ष और देश का हर… pic.twitter.com/SutmUirCP8
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 11, 2025
The protest was organized by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), a coalition of opposition parties led by the Congress, amid escalating accusations of electoral malpractice.
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in collusion with the ECI, manipulated the electoral process. Last week, in an opposition meeting, he claimed a “huge criminal fraud” had taken place during the 2024 elections.
He cited findings from a survey conducted in Karnataka, which, he said, revealed six major irregularities: duplicate voter entries, multiple registrations across states, false residential addresses, bulk voters listed at single addresses, voter ID cards with unclear photographs and misuse of Form 6, which is used for enrolling new voters.
Gandhi further accused the ECI of tailoring a "choreographed schedule" for state assembly elections to favor the BJP and alleged that the Commission refused to provide digital copies of voter rolls.
The ECI has dismissed these claims, calling them an “absurd analysis.” It has challenged Gandhi to file a formal complaint under oath if he believes the allegations are credible.
