The year was 2021. It had been almost 2 years since the Congress had received a massive drubbing during the Lok Sabha election. The party, which had lost relevance among the country’s youth, was hoping to reconnect with its potential voters. As such, the IT Cell of the Congress set up a website, urging the youth to become a ‘Social Media Warrior’ of the party.
The official X handle of Congress had tweeted, “This is not an army of hatred, this is not an army of violence, this is an army of truth, this is an army that will defend the idea of India – Shri @RahulGandhi…Come be a Congress Social Media Warrior. #JoinCongressSocialMedia https://incsmw.in“
5 years later, the website designed to platform youths and turn them into ‘social media warriors’ of the Congress party redirects to an online casino and betting website.
The new URL reads ‘https://www.thenascent.in/‘. The name of the site is ‘YOLO 247’, which claims to have been in operation since 2022. The month, however, is not specified. The homepage of the website carries the following description –
“YOLO247 is an online sportsbook and casino platform for players in India. Enjoy betting on 30+ sports, access to 5,000+ casino games, 100+ live dealer tables, and 24/7 betting and gaming. The platform supports deposits and withdrawals in INR for a seamless experience. Register now and get a 500% bonus on your first deposit!“
OpIndia looked up the WHOIS Database and found that the site’s ownership details have been made private. It is interesting to note that the domain was registered on 2nd July 2026, and it is due to expire around the same time in 2027.
But one question remains unanswered: Why is a website set up by the Congress party redirecting the youth to a betting and casino platform?
It must be mentioned that several security loopholes were flagged immediately after the launch of the site “https://incsmw.in“.
Although the Congress party collected personal details, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email IDs, social media profiles, and education details of individuals who volunteered for the cause, it was out in the open for at least 5 days after the launch of the site.
“The data can be downloaded by anyone, by simply tweaking a few queries on their website!” Twitter user @rsgovin (account now suspended) revealed in a thread.
A year after creating ‘social media warriors’, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi set out on a luxurious political pilgrimage called ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ in September 2022. His supposed ‘nationwide walk’ had a fleet of 59 containers, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.
Nonetheless, the Congress party launched yet another website in the hopes of mobilising voters, although it had no impact on the outcome of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. The website was named after ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ and had the following URL -‘https://bharatjodoyatra.in/‘
Unlike the website for ‘Social Media Warriors’, the one for ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ continues to exist. But if you click on the ‘Nyay Yatra’ menu and hover over the ‘Find My Photo’ tab, then you are faced with the same problem.
The website designed by the Congress party redirects you to another site that carries the URL: ‘https://bjnyphotos.in/. Interestingly, this too is a betting and casino site named ‘Winexch’.
The homepage says clearly – “Winexch is an Indian licensed online betting platform offering 1000+ games across sports and casino categories for Indian players. With a 100% Welcome Bonus up to ₹20,000 on the first deposit and a minimum entry of ₹500, Winexch delivers cricket, kabaddi, live casino, and slots with Indian payment support including UPI and Net Banking.“
The website is identical in its layout design and content to the one for ‘YOLO 247’.
OpIndia again looked up the WHOIS Database and found that the site’s ownership details have been made private. It is again interesting to note that the domain was registered on 1st July 2026, and it is due to expire around the same time in 2027.
As such, it is clear that the ‘Winexch’ domain was registered a day earlier than the one for ‘YOLO 247’.
How did the Congress party allow redirection to 2 different betting and casino platforms? Obviously, it couldn’t have been done without the administrative permission and supervision of the administrators of the website.
Many of these questions remain unanswered. Coincidentally, some Congress party leaders had objected when the Modi government sought to ban betting apps in India through the implementation of the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025.
It remains to be seen how swiftly the party acts to undo the damage it is causing to the country’s youth through its own political sites.
