One woman’s image on scores of voter IDs ignites questions over Haryana’s electoral integrity

In Haryana’s Ambala district, the bizarre problem of hundreds of voter-list entries carrying the same woman’s photograph continues to spark confusion, embarrassment, and serious questions about the integrity of the state’s electoral rolls.

Seventy-four-year-old Jyoti Ram and his daughter-in-law, Roma Devi, discovered that their names appear alongside the photograph of another woman — Charanjeet Kaur. “The election agents know us, so we manage to vote without trouble,” said Jyoti, who pushes a fruit cart for a living. “But when nearly 250 people face the same issue, even officials hesitate to object.” Both cast their ballots in the 2024 Assembly polls despite the mismatch.

At her home, Charanjeet Kaur — the woman whose image has been repeatedly used — is painfully aware of the situation. “Whenever I go to vote, the staff, police and polling agents laugh,” she said. Having studied up to Class 5, she often finds herself explaining that she is not responsible for the repeated error. “I keep saying it should be corrected. But nothing ever changes.”

Her daughter-in-law, Gurmeet Kaur, who contested the 2022 sarpanch election, lost that race — but the photo confusion in the village persisted.

Sarpanch Sonia Devi’s husband, Devinder Singh, dismissed the issue as a “publication mistake”. “This has been happening for years,” he said. “If bogus voting was happening, why did Congress win here by nearly 150 votes in the 2024 Assembly polls?”

Congress MP Varun Chaudhary, who won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections followed by his wife Pooja’s Assembly victory later that year, called the situation unacceptable. “What does this say about the functioning of the Election Commission? The EC must work to restore the faith of Haryana’s voters,” he said.

For families like that of Lakhmir Singh, the problem has been deeply frustrating. His son Ranjeet Singh said 11 members of their family were affected. “We even staged a dharna before the BDPO in 2022, demanding correction. Nothing happened.”

Booth Level Officer Arvind Aggarwal, who took charge only a month ago, said he would “visit every home, verify documents, and submit cases for correction.” Others, including government school teacher Rajiv Kharbanda, assigned election duties just two months earlier, said they had no access to older records.

An election department source claimed that some corrections were made after a complaint surfaced ahead of the 2022 panchayat polls. “Technical problems occur when a PDF file used for publication gets corrupted,” the official said.

Barara SDM and Election Registration Officer Satinder Siwach said an inquiry is underway. “We will update the photographs of all eligible voters who submit Form 8,” he said, adding that the issue can also be corrected via the National Voter Services Portal. Haryana Chief Electoral Officer A. Sreenivas said the matter would be examined thoroughly.

More instances involving a Brazilian national’s photograph

Adding to the controversy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed at a press conference that a stock photograph of a Brazilian national was used at least 22 times across 10 booths in Sonipat’s Rai. “She has multiple names — Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, Vimla,” he alleged.

Several such voters were tracked, according to Indian Express. All insisted they were genuine and voted without issue.

In Akbarpur Barota, 57-year-old Bimla Devi’s son Sunil said she used h

er legitimate voter card from 2017, bearing her accurate photograph. Poonam, 29, who left the village after a dispute with her husband, had also voted earlier, he said, showing her voter ID on his phone.

Anju, 54, confirmed she voted in the 2024 polls with her correct 2012-issued ID. Saroj, 37, now living in Bhiwani, said she did not vote last year but is a “genuine voter”. Sunita, 32, from Kundli village, also voted in 2024 and was unaware of any discrepancy.

As investigations unfold, the voter-roll chaos — from Ambala to Sonipat — has become a stark reminder of how technical lapses, unaddressed for years, can shake public confidence in the democratic process.