Citing Cong poll graph since 1984, BJP junks its vote chori claims

NEW DELHI: Citing historical poll data, BJP Friday asserted that Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of “vote chori” is baseless, and Congress’s electoral graph has been declining since 1984, when it last won a LS majority, hitting rock bottom in 2014.

BJP neta GVL Narasimha Rao, a former party MP and poll analyst, said that the LoP in Lok Sabha suggests Congress’ fall began only after PM Modi led the BJP to office in 2014, blaming collusion between election commission and the central govt. “The fact is, Congress has been on a declining trajectory since its best-ever performance in 1984, when Rajiv Gandhi won a landslide victory with over 48% vote share and 414 of 543 LS seats. After a slide in popular support over three decades, its worst performance was in 2014, winning just 44 seats with a 19.5% vote share,” he noted.

Gandhi has accused EC of manipulating voter rolls by deleting and adding names to favor BJP, and has launched a “Voter Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar against the poll watchdog’s SIR of electoral roll.

Rao said Congress’ decline began in 1989 and continued until 2014, when Modi became PM. He cited national and state election data over several LS polls to support his argument.

“To grab attention, Rahul Gandhi claims his revelations carry the political potency of an atom bomb or hydrogen bomb, capable of destroying Modi-led BJP. An analysis of past election trends reveals his claims are baseless,” Rao stated.

He highlighted losses inflicted on Congress by regional netas since 1984, including Mulayam Singh Yadav and Mayawati in UP, Jyoti Basu and Mamata Banerjee in Bengal, Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra, Lalu Prasad in Bihar, and M Karunanidhi in Tamil Nadu. He asked if Gandhi would label these leaders as “vote chor.”