In an unusual twist that feels more like a plot from a comedy-drama than real life, a Brazilian model has found herself at the center of a fiery political storm in India without ever stepping foot in the country. The controversy erupted when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during a press conference, displayed what he claimed were cases of voter fraud in Haryana. Among the visuals was a photograph of a young woman, used multiple times across voter IDs, only for it to turn out that the image belonged to Larissa, a Brazilian model and influencer, snapped years ago.
Rahul Gandhi standing before the media pointed to a section of the voter list and asked, “Who is this lady? Where does she come from?” The photo, he alleged, appeared under different names such as Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, and Vimla.
According to the Congress leader, the same face showed up 22 times across at least ten polling booths in Haryana raising serious questions about the authenticity of the voter list. “One in eight voters in Haryana could be fake,” he claimed pointing to the “H-Files”, a collection of alleged irregularities including duplicate, non-existent, or manipulated voter records, which he estimated at around 25 lakh entries.
| Brazilian model caught in India’s political storm without ever visiting — “What madness, what craziness, what world are we living in?”
Read More- https://t.co/yGhLYZSVWk#viral #trending #RahulGandhi #Brazilianmodel #Hfiles #TheStatesman pic.x.com/QkxhoYhzxQ— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) November 6, 2025
But what made this political allegation go viral for entirely unexpected reasons was the identity of the woman in the photograph. Larissa, now in her twenties, reacted with a mixture of disbelief and humor after learning her image was being debated in Indian politics.
Also Read: Kabhi Seema, Kabhi Sweety, Kabhi Saraswati: Rahul claims Brazilian model voted 22 times in Haryana
In a video posted online, translated from Portuguese, she said, “Guys, I’m gonna tell you a joke. It’s too horrible! They’re using an old picture of me for elections in India showing me as Indian. What a mess! A reporter even reached out to my workplace for an interview. I couldn’t believe it when a friend sent me the photo again.”
She added, with a touch of sarcasm and exasperation, that the photo dates back to when she was 18 or 20 emphasising how absurd it was to be a ‘voter’ in Haryana. “What madness! What craziness is this, what world do we live in?” she exclaimed.
The bizarre incident quickly took social media by storm. Users from India and abroad shared memes and disbelief at how a stock photo of a Brazilian influencer ended up allegedly appearing on multiple Indian voter IDs.
Rahul Gandhi’s press conference itself focused on serious allegations of electoral malpractice. He accused the ruling BJP of manipulating votes and postal ballots to secure victory pointing out that Congress had narrowly lost the 2024 Haryana Assembly elections by 22,000 votes.
However, the Election Commission quickly rejected the claims noting that the Congress party’s polling agents had not raised objections during the election process. The Commission maintained that the voter list discrepancies, if any, did not point to systematic fraud.