The Congress party on Saturday intensified its offensive against alleged electoral malpractice with the release of a satirical video titled Laapata Vote, shared by former party president Rahul Gandhi on social media platform X.
‘Laapata Vote’
The video, inspired by the Bollywood film Laapataa Ladies, shows a man walking into a police station to report a theft — not of valuables, but of his vote. As the officers initially express disbelief, the man insists that “lakhs of votes” are being stolen. One policeman, suddenly alarmed, wonders aloud whether his own vote has also gone missing.
Sharing the clip, Rahul Gandhi declared, “Chori chori, chupke chupke no more, the public has woken up.” The party amplified the message through its official handles, calling voter fraud “the theft of people’s rights” and urging citizens to unite against it.
Taking to X , INC said, “The theft of your vote is the theft of your rights. Let us come together to raise our voice against vote theft, to protect our rights.”
‘Vote Chori se Azaadi’ Campaign
The video forms part of the broader Congress campaign Vote Chori se Azaadi, which the party describes as a “do-or-die” battle to safeguard democracy. It follows another video released on August 13, where a family at a polling booth discovers their votes have already been cast. That clip ends with two men casting bogus votes and flashing a thumbs-up at an officer seated behind a signboard reading Election Chori Aayog.
Alongside the digital campaign, Rahul Gandhi announced that he will launch the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar on August 17, framing it as a people’s movement against “vote theft.” He described the initiative as a direct fight to protect both democracy and constitutional rights.
Congress has also introduced a new web portal to collect citizen reports of alleged voter fraud. The party is demanding digital voter rolls and stricter transparency mechanisms to prevent manipulation in future elections.
 "Putin says Russia-Ukraine war ‘wouldn’t have happened’ if Trump were US president")
