'I cast my vote, don’t know who that is': Woman at centre of 'Brazilian model' voter ID row responds

The woman at the centre of the “Brazilian model” voter ID controversy has denied any connection to the fake identity card flagged by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The voter, identified as Munesh, said, “The card I have has my photo... the one Rahul Gandhi showed does not. I cast my vote. I don’t know whose photo is on the fake card.”

On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi alleged that a voter ID featuring the photo of a Brazilian woman, allegedly taken from stock image websites, was used to vote 22 times in Haryana’s Rai constituency during last year’s election. The seat was won by BJP’s Krishna Gahlawat, defeating Congress candidate Bhagwan Antil by 4,673 votes. Gandhi accused the Election Commission of large-scale voter fraud and claimed that 25 lakh fake votes were cast across the state.

The BJP hit back, calling the allegations baseless. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused Gandhi of “shifting narratives” ahead of voting in Bihar, while Election Commission sources said no formal complaint had been filed by the Congress during the review of results. Meanwhile, the Brazilian woman in the viral photo, identified as Larissa Nery, said she was shocked to see her image used on an Indian voter ID and called the incident “madness.”