Controversy Erupts Over Alleged Vote Manipulation in Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress Elections

Bhopal:

The Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress election, intended to revitalize the party's younger members, has descended into controversy, with the BJP leveling accusations of vote manipulation against the Congress and even Congress members questioning the election's legitimacy.

Results announced on November 6 declared Yash Ghanghoria, son of former minister and Jabalpur MLA Lakhan Ghanghoria, as the leading candidate for Youth Congress State President with 313,730 votes. Abhishek Parmar from Bhopal secured the second position with 238,780 votes, followed by Devendra Singh Dadu.

However, the celebratory atmosphere quickly dissipated as allegations surfaced regarding substantial irregularities, vote tampering, and age requirement violations, casting doubt on the election outcomes.

Speaking anonymously to NDTV, one candidate made grave accusations: "Nobody is willing to hear our concerns. Why are overage votes being counted? The candidate handbook clearly stated voters born before 1990 were ineligible, but despite providing multiple pieces of evidence, transparency is lacking. Our 8.30 lakh votes were rejected, and we're now requesting the voter list. More than Rs 8 crore has been involved in this process."

The candidate noted these complaints emerged from the grassroots block level upward. "Over 4,000 candidates participated, and most allege their votes mysteriously disappeared or were rejected. I questioned organizational leaders about similar allegations arising across nearly every district. Despite meeting with our technical team, everyone provided evasive responses. Though the president hasn't been officially announced, promotional materials have appeared from someone with no previous Congress affiliation. Everything seems predetermined."

Madhya Pradesh minister and senior BJP figure Vishwas Sarang accused the Congress of misappropriating its own votes, labeling the election an "Rs 8 crore scam." "Rahul Gandhi organized these Youth Congress elections. Approximately 1.5 million youth registered at Rs 50 each, collecting Rs 7.5 crore. Another Rs 1 crore came from nomination fees. Congress has essentially stolen this money and the votes," Sarang claimed.

He alleged that 8.5 lakh votes were either rejected or classified as "held" during counting and accused Congress of permitting overage members to participate. "Santosh Singh from Vidisha is 44 years old, and Anjum Khan is 36. Both voted in what's supposed to be a youth election. Will Rahul Gandhi address this hypocrisy?" he questioned.

Sarang also highlighted the irony in Rahul Gandhi's ongoing national campaign against "vote theft." "The individual who repeatedly claims 'democracy is in danger' has conducted perhaps the most undemocratic election within his own party," Sarang remarked.

Discontent Within Congress

Internal discord is mounting within Congress itself. Several Youth Congress leaders have traveled to Delhi to meet National In-Charge Manish Sharma, alleging widespread tampering and manipulation in the Madhya Pradesh election process. Top contenders Abhishek Parmar and Devendra Singh Dadu have reportedly filed complaints regarding irregularities in membership verification and vote counting.

In Rajgarh district, Youth Congress candidate Shiv Dangi informed NDTV that he and his team personally financed membership fees for 17,490 youths, investing nearly Rs 9 lakh on registrations and approximately Rs 20 lakh in total campaign expenses. Yet, he claimed thousands of his votes were marked "held" or invalidated without explanation.

"I managed to correct the held votes; 3,300 were validated, but I still only received 4,500 votes. What happened to the remainder?" he questioned, stating he had submitted complaints via email to Youth Congress In-Charge Manish Sharma, the District Returning Officer, and state leaders, but received no response.

According to Youth Congress records, online membership registration commenced on April 18 through an app with a Rs 50 fee. Between June 20 and July 19, approximately 1,537,527 youths enrolled. However, 63,153 failed to pay the fee, resulting in only 1,474,374 valid memberships.

Interviews with the top three candidates took place in Delhi on November 9, but following multiple complaints, the central leadership suspended the announcement of the state president's appointment. Despite this hold, promotional materials declaring Yash Ghanghoria as president have appeared across several districts; rival candidates suggest this "confirms the manipulation."

Observers note the elections have exposed deep factional divisions within the Madhya Pradesh Congress. The Kamal Nath and Umang Singhar camps reportedly supported Ghanghoria, while numerous district-level leaders aligned with other factions are demanding an investigation.