On Wednesday, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, alleged large-scale electoral malpractices in the Haryana Assembly elections. He claimed that a Brazilian model had cast her vote under different names in as many as 10 booths, calling it a “centralised operation” to alter the electoral outcome and prevent the “favourite” Congress party from winning. Gandhi also displayed the model’s picture during his press conference.
Larissa Bonesi gets confused for mysterious Brazilian model
As Rahul Gandhi’s claim gained national attention, the picture of the Brazilian model began circulating widely. Many social media users confused her with Larissa Bonesi, the rumoured girlfriend of filmmaker Aryan Khan (son of Shah Rukh Khan). Her Instagram comments were soon flooded- some congratulated her for her “Indian citizenship,” while others tagged her in posts supporting Rahul Gandhi.
While Larissa Bonesi has not reacted to the confusion, a few users clarified that she is not the woman shown in Gandhi’s press conference.
About mystery woman in the Haryana polls controversy
It turns out that the woman in the viral photo is also named Larissa. She is a Brazilian citizen by the name Larissa Nery. Nery has responded to the situation by posting screenshots of Rahul Gandhi’s press conference and sharing a video addressing the issue.
In her video, she said, “Guys, they are using an old photo of mine. I was 18 or 20 years old. I don’t know if it’s about an election or something to do with voting… and in India! They’re portraying me as Indian to scam people — what madness!”
“And in India. Ah! They`re portraying me as Indian to scam people, guys. What madness! What craziness is this? What world do we live in?” Brazilian Model Larissa Nery responds after going viral after Rahul Gandhi`s H-Bomb.@RahulGandhi #Haryana #election #RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/vI8TSKcfIH
— SHARON MATHEW (@yugensoul) November 6, 2025
She added that journalists were now contacting her after the image went viral. “A reporter called me wanting to know about this whole thing — my job, the salon — it’s crazy!” she said in Portuguese.
In her latest Instagram status, Larissa joked, “Wow, that’s crazy! I’m famous in India as the ‘mysterious Brazilian model’!”
According to Brazilian outlet Aos Fatos, Nery clarified that she is not a model and had only posed for a friend’s photo project. The photographer, Matheus Ferrero, later shared the image online with her permission, after which it was widely used as a representational photo.