New Delhi. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi tore into Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" narrative on Thursday, dismissing the Leader of the Opposition's press conference as a display of historical ignorance. Trivedi responded to Gandhi's attacks on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, which followed an Indian Express report detailing internal dissent within the Election Commission. The confrontation centers on a claim that anti-incumbency has mysteriously disappeared in states where BJP affiliates hold power. Trivedi countered this with a rapid-fire list of electoral history. "Congress has not been in power in Tamil Nadu since 1967," Trivedi stated. "In Bengal, there has been no Congress government since 1977. In Bihar, since 1990. In UP, since 1989."
The spokesperson, a Rajya Sabha MP, accused Gandhi of relying on "dubious sources" and PowerPoint presentations to build his case. He argued that the real reason for Congress's prolonged absence from state power is the evolution of the electoral landscape. "Ever since transparent elections have taken place, CCTV cameras have come in, and independent media has arrived, they've started finding it difficult to come to power," Trivedi said. He framed the BJP's dominance not as manipulation, but as a byproduct of a modernized, visible voting process that older parties struggle to navigate.
The political fight has upended a serious institutional issue. The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised formal objections on at least 14 occasions over ten months. These objections targeted CEC decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including voter registration and the deletion of names. The ECI has firmly rejected the notion of a split, stating all decisions on the SIR were unanimous. But the BJP's sharp rebuttal shifts the focus from internal ECI mechanics to a broader narrative of democratic fairness and historical accuracy.