Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Election Commission and the BJP government over alleged “vote chori” took an unexpected turn on Tuesday when he referred to a woman who is reportedly hiding in Dehradun. As the Leader of the Opposition launched a sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, his cryptic remark added an element of mystery to the INDIA bloc’s press conference.
His comments triggered speculation about the woman’s identity and why he had mentioned her.
Insisting that the political resistance would continue, Rahul said everyone involved in the alleged vote theft would be held accountable.
“It is our commitment to you that the people who have done this, PM Modi, (Amit) Shah, Gyanesh Kumar, the lady who's hiding right now in Dehradun, and others are going to be brought to justice,” he said.
Although Rahul did not identify the woman, his statement prompted speculation about whether he was referring to Seema Khanna, the Election Commission’s Director General (IT).
Khanna’s role has come under scrutiny following an Indian Express investigation that reported objections from two Election Commissioners regarding the centralised control of ERONet, the software used to manage electoral rolls.
The platform, now integrated into ECINet, enables state-level officials to update voter records, a responsibility assigned to them under the law.
Political commentator and Congress worker Vijay Thottathil suggested that Rahul was referring to Khanna.
“Rahul Gandhi said about a person hiding in Dehradun who is equally responsible as Gyanesh Kumar in the 'vote chori' scam. Where is Seema Khanna?” Thottathil wrote on social media.
Harmeet Kaur, an AICC media coordinator, also raised similar questions.
“Where is Seema Khanna? Is she hiding in Dehradun? And who is shielding her? Remember, ECI data is still under her control. Who is protecting her, and what are they trying to hide?” Kaur posted while sharing a video of Rahul’s remarks.
However, sources in the Election Commission said Khanna has been staying in Dehradun to supervise preparations for next year’s Uttarakhand Assembly elections.
WHO IS SEEMA KHANNA, AND WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY?
Seema Khanna joined the Election Commission on deputation in 2025. She previously worked with the National Informatics Centre (NIC). An M.Tech graduate, she holds a doctorate in information security from IIT Delhi.
Her name came into the spotlight after an Indian Express investigation reported that two Election Commissioners had raised objections to various decisions taken by the Election Commission at least 14 times over the preceding 10 months.
One of the major disagreements concerned the system used to maintain electoral-roll data, which falls under the supervision of Khanna in her capacity as Director General (IT).
According to the report, the two Election Commissioners highlighted complaints from Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who said their access to the portal was being restricted. The issue raised concerns about the integrity of the electoral process.
Under the Representation of the People Act and the Registration of Electors Rules, EROs are legally responsible for adding, correcting and deleting names from electoral rolls.
In other words, EROs prepare and maintain voter lists and determine which names should be included or removed. This responsibility lies at the centre of the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which has resulted in more than 13 crore voter exclusions nationwide.
Consequently, Khanna’s role has faced increased scrutiny and criticism from opposition parties.
In an internal note, Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu reportedly stated that Khanna had no “legal authority to restrict complete access” to EROs.
Sandhu also expressed concern that he had not been informed about new modules and portals being developed by Khanna’s IT division.
The complaints reportedly continued even after ECINet was launched in January, bringing approximately 40 election-related portals together on a single platform.
The investigation ultimately raised questions about whether state-level election officials had unrestricted access to the software needed to correct errors and restore voters’ names during the SIR exercise, or whether certain functions had come under the control of the Election Commission’s IT department led by Khanna.
