Rahul Gandhi’s propaganda has cost India up to ₹1,500 crore

The Indian National Congress, under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, has turned baseless allegations into a political strategy. From the so-called “vote chori” narrative to dragging the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Supreme Court into needless controversies, this campaign has done more than spread lies—it has wasted public resources on an alarming scale.

When calculated carefully, the total cost to the nation of this propaganda could be as high as ₹1,500 crore. This is not just an economic drain; it is a systematic attack on institutions that millions of Indians rely on for democracy to function smoothly.

Wasting the Supreme Court’s time

The most staggering burden came from judicial diversion. The Supreme Court was forced to hear petitions over the Bihar Special Summary Revision (SIR), which Congress and its allies painted as a massive disenfranchisement plot.

The court devoted an estimated 10 to 15 days to hearings. With each day of Supreme Court functioning costing the nation between ₹1 and 2 crore in direct expenses, the bill adds up to ₹10-30 crore. But the larger blow is the opportunity cost: other cases—over 70,000 still pending—were pushed aside. Every day of delay in crucial commercial or constitutional disputes is estimated to cost the economy about ₹100 crore. That means the Congress-induced diversion could have drained ₹1,000-1,500 crore in lost productivity.

Election Commission dragged into politics

The ECI was forced to expend time, staff and resources too, responding to propaganda. Press briefings, clarifications, and extra manpower for fact-checking swallowed up an estimated ₹50 lakh to ₹1 crore.

Further, the controversy over 6.5 million deleted names in Bihar’s draft voter rolls meant additional verification work. Each verification costs around ₹10-20, and although most of this is routine, the extra burden triggered by the opposition’s lies is pegged at ₹1.3-2.6 crore.

Sanjay Kumar of Lokniti-CSDS only worsened matters by misrepresenting Maharashtra data and later issuing an apology. That fiasco may force a re-check in Maharashtra at a further cost of ₹1-2 crore.

I sincerely apologize for the tweets posted regarding Maharashtra elections.
Error occurred while comparing data of 2024 LS and 2024 AS. The data in row was misread by our Data team.
The tweet has since been removed.
I had no intention of dispersing any form of misinformation.

— Sanjay Kumar (@sanjaycsds) August 19, 2025

Congress’s propaganda machine

The propaganda itself has not come free. Rahul Gandhi’s slideshows, Pawan Khera’s tweets, lakhs of posters, and mass-circulated videos have their own price tag. Political advertising norms suggest this could have cost between ₹15-30 crore, with another ₹2-4 crore spent on social media amplification and promotions.

This is money spent not to inform citizens, but to poison public opinion against a neutral constitutional body.

The erosion of trust

The indirect cost, though less visible, is equally dangerous. The ECI’s credibility has been attacked, and rebuilding public trust will likely require official outreach and campaigns worth at least ₹5-10 crore. These funds will come from the taxpayer, not from the politicians who spread the lies.

Worse, the faith of many in India's institutions have been shaken, the cost of which cannot be ascertained, as evident in this survey conducted by Vote Vibe:

The total bill for Rahul Gandhi’s lies

Adding the numbers, the direct and visible costs—administrative, legal, electoral, and propaganda—come to ₹35-90 crore. But if one includes the judicial backlog and opportunity costs created by dragging the Supreme Court into political theatre, the true national burden stands at a staggering ₹1,040-1,590 crore.

That is the price of Rahul Gandhi’s politics: draining public money, weakening institutions, and manufacturing mistrust in India’s democracy.

India’s democracy thrives on accountability. But accountability does not mean every opposition rumour must be entertained at the expense of the taxpayer. Rahul Gandhi and his Congress colleagues have weaponised falsehoods, compelled courts and institutions to waste precious time, and eroded faith in a system that has otherwise delivered free and fair elections for decades.

This is not opposition—it is sabotage. And the bill has been footed by the people of India.