NEW DELHI, October 22 (Aalimi Nation) – Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday that the Congress would not win elections "even by 2030", hours after Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the government and the Election Commission of enabling what he called "vote chori", or vote theft. Both sides' claims are political allegations that have not been independently verified.

Speaking at a gathering in the national capital, Mr Shah said the Congress's "negative politics" was the reason it was not winning elections. He said the party had not been elected in several states for decades, a trend he said began before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.

The Home Minister said the Congress blames democratic institutions, including the Election Commission, only when it loses, and that the same institutions are seen as functioning well when the party wins. He accused Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi of raising "vote theft" allegations to protect what he described as the votes of infiltrators.

Mr Shah also warned Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal that voters would root out his party from Punjab.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Ramesh, a Congress Rajya Sabha member, said in a post on X that Mr Modi and Mr Shah were "spreading lies" to distract from the issue. He called "vote chori" a "proven reality", citing what he described as the Election Commission's own data showing more than 10 crore Indians face the risk of losing their voting rights.

He alleged that the Commission had "illegally altered Form 6", which he said created barriers for new voters, and that Form 7 was being widely abused to seek targeted deletions of names. He also accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of using the ECINET platform to centralise control of the electoral roll, overriding legal safeguards. Mr Ramesh said there was widespread anger and that protests were continuing despite what he called repression.

A response from the Election Commission to Thursday's statements was not available.

The exchange follows protests led by Mr Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Congress leaders have criticised the Commission over the exercise. The Commission has ordered searchable electoral rolls for the revision in 17 states and Union Territories.

A petition filed in the Supreme Court on October 12 under Article 32 of the Constitution challenges the revision, changes to Form 6 and the ECINET system. The court's registry has asked why the Chief Election Commissioner and two other commissioners were named as respondents. The matter has not yet been decided.

Mr Ramesh and the Congress say the revision risks excluding eligible voters. Mr Shah says the party raises such questions only after electoral setbacks.