Brazilian Model Reacts After Her Photo Allegedly Used in Haryana Voter List

The Brazilian model, whose photograph appeared in the voter list during the Haryana Assembly elections, has responded to the controversy. The issue gained attention after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party of colluding to ensure Congress’ defeat in the state.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Gandhi claimed that a Brazilian model’s photo was used across 10 polling booths, allowing fake voters to cast fraudulent votes. He said there were 22 entries in the voter list using the same woman’s image under different names such as Seema, Sweety, Saraswati, Rashmi, and Vilma.

“Who is this lady? What is her name? Where does she come from? But she votes 22 times in Haryana,” Gandhi alleged.

Following his remarks, social media users quickly identified the model as Larissa, whose image appeared on the stock photo platform Unsplash. The photograph, titled “woman wearing blue denim jacket,” was uploaded by photographer Matheus Ferrero on March 2, 2017, and has since been viewed over 59 million times and downloaded more than 4 lakh times under a free-use license.

Reacting to the controversy, Larissa posted a video on X, expressing surprise and amusement. Speaking in Portuguese, she said, “Friends, I’m going to tell you a joke, they’re using an old photo of me. I must have been about 18 or 20 years old. I don’t know if it’s an election, something about voting in India!”

She added that a reporter had contacted her for an interview after the issue went viral, and even reached out through her Instagram profile.

“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.

Brazilian Model Larissa whose image has been used in Haryana for fake votes reacts to the big expose and irregularities shared by @RahulGandhi today

pic.twitter.com/tu51SkH5Dw

— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) November 5, 2025

Currently, she is no longer a model and works at a salon, as per reports.

Rahul Gandhi had alleged large-scale voter manipulation, claiming that around 25 lakh votes were “stolen” through 5.21 lakh duplicate, 93,000 invalid, and 19 lakh bulk voter entries. He further alleged that thousands of BJP-linked individuals voted both in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

The Election Commission, however, dismissed the claims, calling them unsubstantiated. Sources told ANI that no appeals were filed regarding the electoral rolls and that only 22 election petitions related to Haryana’s 90 Assembly seats remain pending before the High Court. The Commission also questioned why Congress polling agents did not raise objections during voting if they suspected duplicate voters.

Also Read: Who Is the Brazilian Model Rahul Gandhi Found on Haryana Voter List?