EC indulging in ‘vote chori’ for BJP, govt brought law to shield it: Rahul starts Bihar campaign

The opposition INDIA bloc on Sunday launched its 1,300-km ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram in Bihar, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that the Election Commission was working hand in glove with the BJP to manipulate electoral rolls and steal elections.

The march, spread across more than 20 districts, is the bloc’s coordinated campaign to highlight what it calls “vote chori” through the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Addressing a gathering at the end of first day of his march in Aurangabad, Rahul hit out at the Election Commission after its press conference. He alleged that the Narendra Modi government brought in a law in 2023 to ensure that no one could take action against the poll body as it was "helping" the BJP and "indulging in vote chori” along with them.

“Today, they (EC) held a press conference. I want to ask them why did the government change the law on CCTV footage of election process. Do you know that no case can be initiated against the election commissioners. In no court in India can there be a case against them. This law was made in 2023. Why was this law made? It was made because Narendra Modi and Amit Shah want to ensure that no one can take any action against the EC as it is helping them and is indulging in ‘vote chori’ along with them,” said Rahul.

He said it was a fight to protect Ambedkar's Constitution and the principle of ‘one person, one vote'.

Addressing the flag-off rally at Sasaram earlier in the day, Rahul alleged that elections across the country were being subverted through deliberate tampering. “The BJP is altering names in Bihar’s electoral rolls to fix the Assembly poll. When I exposed this manipulation, I was asked to file an affidavit, but BJP leaders making similar claims faced no such demand. The Election Commission is openly siding with them,” he said, adding that the INDIA bloc would fight to ensure people’s voting rights were protected.

Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, also trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the EC. “Modi has ruined the lives of Bihar’s youth and the EC is helping him cheat voters. Do not think of Biharis as weak,” he declared.

Invoking socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia and Babasaheb Ambedkar, Tejashwi said the Constitution made the vote of every citizen, whether rich or poor, equal.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, sharing the stage with Rahul, sharpened the attack further. He alleged that the BJP-led government posed a direct threat to the Constitution itself. “As long as the Modi government stays, people’s rights are unsafe. Even the vote is not secure and the Election Commission is behaving like an extension of the ruling party,” Kharge told the crowd.

RJD president and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav alleged that the BJP leadership was out to damage democracy. “They are stealing people’s votes and destroying the Constitution…. Unite to defeat them. Rahul and Tejashwi must uproot them and save democracy,” Lalu said.

Rahul also raised the caste census issue, accusing the Modi government of making its recent announcement under political pressure. “They will never conduct a genuine caste census nor remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations. The INDIA bloc will conduct a real census and bring down this wall of injustice,” he said.

The launch of the yatra saw participation from across the opposition spectrum, with CPI(ML) Liberation’s Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPM’s Subhashini Ali, CPI’s P Santosh Kumar, Pappu Yadav, KC Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, Krishna Allavaru, Rajesh Ram, Shakeel Ahmad, Akhilesh Pratap Singh and Vikassheel Insaan Party’s Mukesh Sahni joining the event.

In a symbolic gesture, Tejashwi drove a jeep carrying Rahul and other alliance leaders as the procession began rolling out of Sasaram to Aurangabad. The yatra will travel across Bihar over the next fortnight, with halts scheduled for August 20, 25 and 31. It will culminate in a mega rally at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan on September 1, where Rahul, Lalu, Tejashwi and Kharge will jointly address the public. Leaders of Left parties and other INDIA bloc constituents are also expected to attend the rally, which will mark the formal launch of the alliance’s Bihar campaign.