BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, on Thursday, reminded Congress MP Rahul Gandhi of what he described as the Congress party’s actual instance of “vote theft” during the historic no-confidence motion of 1999, which resulted in the fall of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government by a single vote. Dubey’s remarks came in response to Rahul Gandhi’s recent allegations accusing the Election Commission of India of vote manipulation in the Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha seat during the 2024 General Elections.
Recalling events from April 17, 1999, Dubey pointed to the role of then-Congress leader and Odisha Chief Minister Giridhar Gamang, who, despite having taken office as the state’s Chief Minister nearly a month earlier, retained his membership in the Lok Sabha. On the day of the no-confidence vote, Gamang flew to New Delhi and participated in the voting process in Parliament. His vote proved decisive, as the final tally stood at 269 votes in favour of the Vajpayee government and 270 against it — resulting in the government’s defeat by a single vote.
At the time, Gamang had been appointed Chief Minister but, according to constitutional provisions, was permitted a six-month window to be elected to the Odisha Legislative Assembly. This technicality allowed him to continue as a Lok Sabha MP temporarily. Taking advantage of this legal provision, he cast his vote in the Lok Sabha, a move which Dubey labelled as “essentially deceiving the system.”
Dubey emphasized that this act was not just a political maneuver but a critical turning point that altered the course of Indian politics. He used the episode to draw a contrast with Rahul Gandhi’s present-day allegations, suggesting that if any party had exploited legal loopholes to manipulate democratic processes, it was the Congress, during a time when Sonia Gandhi had recently assumed leadership of the party.
Dubey’s remarks were intended to question the moral authority of the Congress party in raising concerns over electoral integrity, using the 1999 incident as a historical reference point to assert the BJP’s claim that the Congress had itself engaged in questionable political tactics in the past.
