Rai in spotlight after ‘Brazilian model’ photo appears on 22 voter IDs

The Rai Assembly constituency has drawn attention after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the photographs of 22 voters in the constituency’s electoral roll had been replaced with that of a Brazilian model.

In the 2024 Assembly elections, BJP’s Krishna Gahalawat defeated Congress candidate Jai Bhagwan Antil by 4,673 votes, polling 64,614 votes against Antil’s 59,941.

According to reports, the image of the same woman — believed to be a Brazilian model — appeared against 22 voters’ names across several villages, including two each from Machhraula, Murthal, and Khedi Manajat, six from Akbarpur Barota, one each from Kundli, Nahri, and Sersa, and seven from Piau Manyari in the Kundli area.

After Rahul Gandhi’s statement, villagers and officials cross-checked the voters’ list and confirmed the anomalies. In Machhraula, for instance, the photos of Pinki and Munesh had been replaced, though their other details remained unchanged. Similar changes were found for Rashmi and Gunia of Murthal and six women in Akbarpur Barota — Anju, Kalawanti, Poonam, Saroj, Bimla, and Darshna.

However, local leaders downplayed the issue, saying it had no bearing on actual voting.

Pramod, former sarpanch of Malikpur village and a Congress supporter, said, “After Rahul Gandhi exposed the anomalies, villagers checked the voter list. But at the time of polling, no one had raised the issue of vote-cutting or duplicate votes.”

Current sarpanch Vicky echoed the sentiment, adding, “No objection was raised during polling or afterward. No one claimed vote-cutting occurred in the village.”

Ankit, a resident of Machhraula, confirmed, “The photos of two women were replaced with the Brazilian model’s image, but the same women cast their votes.”

Machhraula’s sarpanch Manoj Kumar also termed it a minor clerical error. “It was not a big issue. Only two photos — Pinki and Munesh — were changed, but the voters’ names, numbers, and other details were intact, and the original voters had cast their votes,” he said.

He added that the Congress led in both the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in the village, securing 423 and 420 votes respectively, while the BJP got 183 and 231 votes, respectively.