Sasaram, Aug. 17 — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to “steal” elections and vowed that the INDIA bloc would not allow such a conspiracy to succeed in Bihar as he launched his 1,300 km ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in the state.
“In the whole country, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are being stolen, and their latest conspiracy is to delete and add voters through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to steal the elections in Bihar,” Gandhi said while addressing the launch event at BIADA Ground in Sasaram. “We have come here to tell you that we will not let them steal the election in Bihar. People of Bihar will not let them steal elections. The poor only have the power of vote and we will not let them steal polls,” he added.
The Congress leader, who is also Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said the entire country was aware of the Election Commission’s role in what he described as “vote chori.” “Wherever this theft is happening, be it Bihar, Maharashtra, Assam, West Bengal, we will catch their theft and put it before the people,” he remarked.
Gandhi also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of running the government “with the help of billionaires.” He said, “Your vote is stolen and then your money is handed over to 5-6 billionaires. The truth of SIR, the vote chori in Bihar, we will put it before the people.”
He alleged that the BJP and RSS were attempting to “erase” the Constitution. “This is a fight to save the Constitution,” Gandhi said, claiming that in Maharashtra, despite opinion polls favoring the INDIA bloc in assembly elections, the BJP alliance swept the polls after “one crore voters were added through magic.”
The Congress leader recalled that INDIA bloc parties had demanded video footage from the Election Commission but were denied access. He said the Congress had demonstrated how more than one lakh votes were “stolen” in a single assembly segment in Karnataka in 2024, helping the BJP win that parliamentary seat.
Gandhi also criticized the poll body for seeking an affidavit from him after his press conference on electoral malpractice. “They say submit an affidavit on the data I had put forward when it is their data that I cited. But no such demand was made from BJP leaders when they made claims in their presser,” he noted.
The launch of the yatra saw the presence of key INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Bihar Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav, Vikassheel Insaan Party’s Mukesh Sahani, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(M)’s Subhashini Ali and CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar.
The 16-day march will cover over 20 districts, including Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East and West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chhapra and Ara, before concluding with a rally in Patna on September 1.
The yatra will be held in hybrid mode — on foot and by vehicle — similar to Gandhi’s Manipur-to-Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, party leaders said.
