Did Sonia Gandhi Vote Before Becoming an Indian Citizen? Controversy Unfolds!

Allegations Surrounding Sonia Gandhi's Voter Registration

New Delhi: Amit Malviya, the head of the BJP IT Cell, made a bold claim on Wednesday, suggesting that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi was listed as a voter in India prior to her acquisition of Indian citizenship.

This statement followed the Congress party's criticism regarding alleged discrepancies in the voters' list and their opposition to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

Malviya asserted in a post on X that Sonia Gandhi's involvement with the voters' list is fraught with significant breaches of electoral regulations. He speculated that this might explain Rahul Gandhi's inclination towards legitimizing ineligible voters and his resistance to the SIR.

He noted that Sonia Gandhi's name first appeared on the electoral rolls in 1980, three years before she became an Indian citizen, while still holding Italian citizenship. At that time, the Gandhi family resided at 1, Safdarjung Road, the official residence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Previously, the voters registered at that address included Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sanjay Gandhi, and Maneka Gandhi.

Malviya highlighted that the electoral rolls for the New Delhi parliamentary constituency were updated with January 1, 1980, as the qualifying date. During this update, Sonia Gandhi's name was added as serial number 388 in polling station 145.

He claimed that this registration was a clear violation of the law, which requires Indian citizenship for voter registration.

After public outcry in 1982, her name was removed, but it reappeared in 1983.

Malviya pointed out that during the new revision that year, Sonia Gandhi was listed as serial number 236 in polling station 140, with January 1, 1983, as the qualifying date, despite her being granted Indian citizenship only on April 30, 1983.

In essence, he argued that Sonia Gandhi's name was added to the electoral rolls twice without fulfilling the fundamental citizenship requirement—first in 1980 as an Italian citizen and again in 1983, just months before she legally became an Indian citizen.

Malviya also questioned why it took her 15 years after marrying Rajiv Gandhi to accept Indian citizenship, asking, "If this isn’t blatant electoral malpractice, what is?" He included an extract from the 1980 electoral rolls in his post.