Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s recent claim about “223 identical entries” at a polling booth in Haryana during the 2024 elections has attracted nationwide scrutiny, though examination of the voting records reveals notable context. The booth in question is located in Dhakola village within Haryana’s Mulana Assembly constituency, an area where Congress substantially increased its vote share between 2019 and 2024.
At a press conference, Gandhi stated that the Election Commission must explain how one woman’s details appeared 223 times across polling stations, noting that the booth was subsequently divided into two separate locations.
Gandhi was referencing Booth 63 in Dhakola village, which was later separated into Booths 63 and 64 for the 2024 Haryana assembly elections. Official polling station records verify this modification.
During the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Booth 63 served Dhakola while Booth 64 covered Rampur. For the 2024 assembly elections, Dhakola was separated into Booths 63 and 64, with Rampur relocated to Booth 65 and beyond. This administrative reorganisation clarifies Gandhi’s mention of “two booths.”
Form 20 data from both parliamentary and state elections demonstrate that Congress not only narrowed the margin but surpassed the BJP in Dhakola in 2024. According to India Today report, Congress received 602 votes compared to BJP’s 275 in the 2024 Assembly elections, whilst Congress had secured 316 votes against BJP’s 460 in 2019.
In the Lok Sabha contests, Congress obtained 610 votes while BJP secured 218 in 2024, compared to 315 and 355 respectively in the previous election.
An India Today investigation discovered that a Booth Level Officer acknowledged the photograph error Gandhi referenced—a Brazilian model’s image appearing alongside multiple voter registrations. The officer explained this occurred due to missing original photographs, describing it as a technical mistake rather than deliberate voter duplication.
