Cong accuses poll body of favouring NDA in elections

The Congress on Friday questioned the Election Commission’s handling of the Bihar Assembly elections. Senior leaders accused the poll body of favouring the ruling alliance, raised concerns over the integrity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls and alleged that cash benefits continued during the model code period. The party’s national leadership, however, maintained an unusual silence through the day.

Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the result had raised troubling questions about the conduct of the poll authorities. He remarked that the figures indicated that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar appeared to have “edged out the people of Bihar”, adding that the CEC seemed to be “authoring a loyal tribute for the Prime Minister”.

Former Rajasthan Chief Minister and Congress incharge of Bihar elections Ashok Gehlot alleged deeper irregularities. He claimed that cash benefits, including Rs 10,000 transfers to women, continued during the campaign phase despite the model code being in force. Calling the results “disappointing”, Gehlot said this would never have been permitted elsewhere and pointed out that in Rajasthan in 2023, welfare benefits were halted immediately after the model code kicked in.

He accused the commission of being a “mute spectator” and warned that unchecked money power posed a threat to democracy. According to him, there was “clear collusion” between the ruling party in Bihar and the EC, which enabled dishonesty and “vote theft”.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah also suggested that “vote chori” had taken place in Bihar, though he admitted he did not yet have full details about the reasons behind the Mahagathbandhan’s setback. He said the alliance must introspect, adding that caste equations alone could not explain the verdict. When asked about Rahul Gandhi’s earlier accusations of “vote theft”, he said the same had “happened in Bihar too”, but did not elaborate.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he was not invited to campaign in Bihar and emphasised that the party must carry out a thorough review of its performance. He noted that the Congress was not the senior partner in the alliance and that the RJD must also examine its own showing. Elections, he said, hinge on multiple factors, from organisational strength to clarity of messaging and all these would have to be studied “in totality”.

Congress leader Udit Raj squarely blamed the SIR process for the outcome, saying the verdict looked “one-sided” because of an exercise the party had repeatedly objected to. He said the commission had responded “as per instructions” and continued to claim it had received no objections during the revision. On Friday morning, EC officials maintained there were “zero appeals in SIR” and called the turnout record-breaking, adding that the Bihar exercise marked the “best-ever performance” of the CEC and the commission.

“I express my heartfelt gratitude to those millions of voters in Bihar who expressed their trust in the Mahagathbandhan. This result in Bihar is truly surprising. We could not achieve victory in an election that was not fair from the very beginning. This fight is for the protection of the Constitution and democracy. The Congress party and the INDIA alliance will deeply review this result and make their efforts to save democracy even more effective,” said Rahul Gandhi.

“We respect the decision of the people of Bihar and will continue our fight against those forces that are engaged in weakening democracy by misusing constitutional institutions,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X in Hindi. He further said the party would conduct a thorough study of the election results and present a detailed perspective after understanding the reasons for the outcomes.

“We are deeply grateful from the bottom of our hearts to those voters in Bihar who supported the grand alliance. .....We will leave no stone unturned in raising awareness among the people. We will continue the struggle to save the Constitution and democracy by staying among the people. This fight is long - and we will fight it with complete dedication, courage, and truth,” he added.