Brazilian model reacts after Rahul Gandhi's Haryana election fraud claim

Larissa, who is a former model, shared she had no idea her photo was being used in India and called the situation 'absurd', adding she had never even visited the country

On Wednesday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged a huge voter fraud in Haryana Assembly elections, claiming a Brazilian model's photograph was used  multiple times under different names in the state's voter list. The Brazilian woman has now surfaced, calling the situation “madness” and “craziness" while expressing disbelief that her old image has been misused in a foreign political context.

 

Larissa, who is a former model, shared her reaction through several videos posted online. She said she had no idea her photo was being used in India and called the situation “absurd", adding she had never even visited the country.

 

What did Rahul Gandhi claim?

At a press conference on Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi alleged large-scale voter list manipulation in Haryana, presenting a photo of Larissa. “Who is this lady who voted 22 times in Haryana, in 10 different booths, under multiple names? It’s a stock photo of a Brazilian model, and she’s one of 2.5 million such fake records in the Haryana voter list,” he said.

 

“One fake photo is used in a single assembly segment to cast 100 votes… This is to create space for BJP people to come from other states and vote,” Gandhi alleged, adding that this was why the ECI refused to release CCTV footage from polling booths.

 

The photograph has been clicked by one Matheus Ferrero. An independent reverse image search using Google Lens showed that the photo has appeared on multiple webpages as a stock image, with the first appearance traced to March 2, 2017, on Ferrero’s Unsplash profile under the title “woman wearing blue denim jacket”. 

What did Larissa say?

In one of the clips, where she was speaking in Portuguese, Larissa said: “Guys, they’re using an old photo of mine. I was about 18 or 20 years old then. They’re using my picture for something related to elections or voting, and in India! They’re portraying me as Indian to scam people. What madness! What craziness is this? What world do we live in?”

 

She went on to describe how the incident drew unexpected attention to her social media accounts. “A reporter called me asking for an interview about this whole thing, my job, my salon. I didn’t respond. Later, a friend sent me the image that’s going viral. You won’t believe it!” she said.

Larissa's social media following increased

In another video, she said her Instagram following had surged after the controversy. “Welcome, my Indian followers! It seems I’ve gained many Indian followers now. People were commenting on my photos as if I had been elected! Just to be clear, it wasn’t me, it was just my photo,” she clarified.

 

She reiterated that she had no connection to Indian politics or elections. “I have absolutely nothing to do with politics in India. My photo was purchased from a stock image platform and used without my involvement. It’s not me, I’ve never even been to India,” she said. “I’m a Brazilian digital influencer and a hairdresser, and I love the Indian people.”