Leader of India's opposition Congress party. At a convention in Ahmedabad in 2025 he told party members that to regain power, "the path goes through Gujarat"—acknowledging the outsized importance of Narendra Modi's home state in Indian politics.
In August 2025 Gandhi accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of colluding with the BJP in a "vote theft" scheme, presenting evidence of irregularities in Mahadevapura, a suburb of Bangalore—including an address with a house numbered zero, a household with 80 people, and a person named "dfojgaidf". He said there were thousands of such examples. The ECI's boss, Gyanesh Kumar, issued an ultimatum ordering Gandhi to file an affidavit to the courts under oath or to apologise. Gandhi embarked on a "Voter Adhikar Yatra" (Voter Rights March) in Bihar to educate people about their electoral rights. Opposition parties have even mooted impeaching Kumar.
By January 2026 Gandhi had failed to build on the 2024 result by developing either a compelling critique or an economic and cultural platform of his own. He has not presented evidence of widespread fraud, nor have analysts found a smoking gun. His allegations of "vote chori" (voter fraud) risk becoming a crutch for Congress. Rahul Verma of Shiv Nadar University in Chennai has described him as "Modi's best campaigner."
In case of fire, stand in the hall and shout "Fire!"