‘What craziness is this?’ How Brazilian model responds to Rahul Gandhi’s Haryana voter-fraud allegation

The Brazilian model, whose photo was allegedly used for voter fraud in Haryana, has been identified as Larissa.

The model responded to Rahul Gandhi’s claim about her photograph being used in alleged voter fraud during the 2024 Haryana Assembly polls. She expressed surprise and called the situation ‘craziness,’ since the photo used was an old one and that she had no involvement in the alleged irregularity.

Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Election Commission and the BJP of “colluding to ensure Congress lost in Haryana”. Gandhi stated that the Brazilian model’s photo was used in 10 booths to facilitate fraudulent voting by allowing fake voters to cast their ballots.

On Thursday, a video surfaced featuring the model, in which she spoke about herself.

In the video, Larissa expressed shock after learning that her photo had allegedly been used multiple times in Haryana’s voter list. Speaking in Portuguese, she joked, “Friends, I’m going to tell you a joke. They are using an old picture me. I must have been about 18-20 years old… I don’t know if it’s an election, something about voting in India!”

“He called the salon, at my job… wanting to talk to me for an interview and I didn’t answer… the guy found my Instagram and called me there. Now another person who has nothing to do with the subject, a friend of mine from another city, sends me a photo, I’m going to put it here for you, but I need it there,” she said.

“Now another person who has nothing to do with the subject, a friend of mine from another city, sends me a photo, I’m going to put it here for you,” she said.

Some media reports said that she is no longer a model and runs a salon in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

What did Rahul Gandhi say?

Rahul Gandhi alleged in Wednesday's press conference that a Brazilian model voted 22 times in the Haryana Elections.

"...the Congress lost the election by 22,000 votes...Who is this lady?...She votes 22 times in Haryana, in 10 different booths in Haryana. She has multiple names...That means this is a centralised operation...The lady is a Brazilian model. That's a stock photograph and she is one of 25 lakh such records in Haryana...," Rahul Gandhi said.