A bizarre twist emerged in the Haryana “vote chori” (vote theft) controversy after a Brazilian model’s old photograph surfaced in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s presentation alleging large-scale voter ID manipulation in the state.
The image, reportedly taken years ago, was used in visuals Gandhi displayed during a press conference, where he claimed that the same woman’s photo appeared on multiple voter cards in Haryana.
The woman in the photograph has now been identified as Larissa, a Brazilian model and influencer. After discovering that her image had been used in Indian political debates, Larissa reacted with disbelief. In a video message posted online, translated from Portuguese, she said, “Folks, let me tell you the gossip. You’re laughing too much, aren’t you? I’m going to tell the gossip. Folks, they are using an old photo of mine. My photo is old, okay? Look, I was very young in the photo. [I must have been] about 20 years old, 18 years old.”
She further said, “They are using a photo of mine to run, I don’t know if it’s an election, something where you have to vote. And in India, they are portraying me as an Indian woman to scam others, folks.”
“Then a reporter called me wanting to know about this thing. [He] called the salon where I work, wanting to talk to me for an interview. So I didn’t answer… The guy found my Instagram, called me on Instagram,” she added.
“There’s this failed politician that lost nearly 100 elections in India, using my old pics to amplify his lies and propaganda against the ruling party. His party members are so obsessed with me and proposing to me in DMs. Yuckk.”
~Brazilian model whose pic RaGa used 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/yjr7iOf8wD
— Mikku 🐼 (@effucktivehumor) November 5, 2025
Her reaction came after the image went viral on social media when fact-checker Mohammed Zubair shared the video, pointing out that the photograph shown in Rahul Gandhi’s presentation did not belong to any Indian voter.
The name of the Brazilian Model seen in @RahulGandhi‘s press conference is Larissa. Here’s her reaction after her old photograph went viral. pic.twitter.com/K4xSibA2OP
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) November 5, 2025
Larissa said she had been inundated with messages after the controversy broke out and even received the viral image from a friend living in another city.
Online searches reveal that her photo is among several portraits taken by Brazilian photographer Matheus Ferrero. Following her reaction video, screenshots and clips from it have rapidly gone viral across social media platforms.
The revelation triggered widespread discussion online, with many users mocking the mix-up and others questioning how the image came to be linked to Indian electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, CNN-News18 interviewed one of the women whose voter ID allegedly featured the Brazilian model’s photo. The woman, identified as Pinky Juginder Kaushik, clarified that it was a clerical error. She said, “Yes, I went to cast my vote myself at the village school. The names are the same, but there was a mistake with the photo — they used someone else’s picture. Nevertheless, I did vote. No one pressured me to vote. I showed my slip and then cast my vote.”
The controversy began after Rahul Gandhi, during a press conference, accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of orchestrating widespread voter fraud during the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections. Displaying a slideshow of alleged mismatched photos and names from voter cards, Gandhi began his presentation with the Brazilian model’s photo, captioned “Yeh kaun hai?”
Gandhi claimed the same image appeared 22 times across at least 10 different polling booths, alleging that it was part of a “centralised operation” to manipulate the electoral rolls. He said,
“Congress lost the election by 22,000 votes, but who is this lady? She votes 22 times in Haryana, in 10 different booths in Haryana. She has multiple names.”
The Election Commission later refuted Gandhi’s claims, stating that the Congress’s own polling agents did not raise objections during the voting process and that procedural checks had been followed.
Further investigation by The Indian Express found that several of Gandhi’s highlighted examples did not substantiate the alleged “vote chori.” For instance, Gandhi pointed to an address in Hodal (House No. 150, Gudhrana village) with “66 voters” and another with “501 voters” as evidence of manipulation. However, a field visit revealed that the property was a large ancestral plot housing four generations of an extended family, each residing in separate homes but registered under the same house number explaining the high number of legitimate voters.
(Source: News18)
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