Sonia Gandhi’s Name Was On Voters’ List Before She Became Indian Citizen: BJP On Rahul’s EC Campaign

Last Updated:August 13, 2025, 12:00 IST

BJP's Amit Malviya said: “Sonia Gandhi’s name entered electoral rolls twice without meeting citizenship requirement — first as an Italian citizen in 1980, and then in 1983..."

Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. (PTI File)

While Congress leader and leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been raising questions on the Election Commission’s (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has hit back, pointing out how the name of his mother and Congress leader, Sonia Gandhi, was added to the list even before she became an Indian citizen.

“Sonia Gandhi’s tryst with India’s voters’ list is riddled with glaring violations of electoral law. This perhaps explains Rahul Gandhi’s fondness for regularising ineligible and illegal voters, and his opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)," said BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya in a post on X.

“Her name first appeared on the rolls in 1980 — three years before she became an Indian citizen and while she still held Italian citizenship. At the time, the Gandhi family lived at 1, Safdarjung Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Until then, the voters registered at that address were Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Maneka Gandhi," he added.

“In 1980, the electoral rolls of the New Delhi parliamentary constituency were revised with January 1, 1980, as the qualifying date. During this revision, Sonia Gandhi’s name was added, appearing at serial number 388 in polling station 145. This entry was a clear violation of the law, which requires a person to be an Indian citizen to be registered as a voter," he wrote.

“Following an outcry in 1982, her name was deleted from the list — only to reappear in 1983. But even her reinstatement raised serious questions. In the fresh revision of the electoral rolls that year, Sonia Gandhi was listed at serial number 236 in polling station 140. The qualifying date for registration was January 1, 1983 — yet she was granted Indian citizenship only on April 30, 1983," said Malviya.

He said: “In other words, Sonia Gandhi’s name entered the electoral rolls twice without meeting the basic citizenship requirement — first as an Italian citizen in 1980, and then again in 1983, months before she legally became a citizen of India. We are not even asking why it took her 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi to accept Indian citizenship. If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?"

Gandhi last week launched a campaign against what he called “vote chori" by the EC in collusion with the BJP through the SIR. He gave several examples to substantiate his allegations that votes are being stolen, there are duplicate voters, those with fake and invalid addresses, bulk voters or single address voters, voters with invalid photos and those misusing Form 6 of new voters.

He alleged it was institutionalised theft and that SIR would lead to the disenfranchisement of large numbers of citizens, particularly vulnerable groups like minorities, who might struggle to produce the strict documentation required.

As Opposition MPs wore T-shirts with messages on “124-year-old voter Minta Devi" on Bihar voters’ list on Tuesday, Gandhi said, “This is not just one seat, there are lots of seats. It is being done on the national level, systematically. The Election Commission knows it, we know it. We are protecting the Constitution. The Election Commission is not doing its duty of enforcing ‘One Man, One Vote’ which is the foundation of the Constitution. There are countless cases like Minta Devi. We are only protecting the Constitution. We will keep doing it. There are unlimited cases. We won’t stop. Picture abhi baaki hai."

News politics Sonia Gandhi’s Name Was On Voters’ List Before She Became Indian Citizen: BJP On Rahul’s SIR Campaign

Read More