Rahul Gandhi accuses EC of voter manipulation in Bihar, draws parallels with Maharash
Rahul Gandhi accuses EC of voter manipulation in Bihar, draws parallels with Maharashtra
M.U.H
09/07/202527
PATNA: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that the Election Commission (EC) was attempting to steal votes in Bihar, just as he claimed it had done in Maharashtra. He added, however, that the people of Bihar would not allow this to happen, asserting that any such manipulation would rob them of their future.
Addressing workers of the Opposition INDIA bloc after participating in a protest march in Patna against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections part of which included a ‘Chakka Jam’ (road blockade) Rahul Gandhi stated, “The EC should know that this is Bihar, and the people of this state will never allow the election body to steal the mandate here after what it did in Maharashtra and Haryana.”
Wearing his trademark white T-shirt and holding a red-covered copy of the Constitution, Rahul accused the EC of failing to discharge its duty in an honest and fair manner. Sharpening his criticism of the ruling government, he said, “In Maharashtra, the mandate was stolen. Now in Bihar, the right to vote is under threat an old conspiracy in a new form. We will continue to expose these anti-Constitutional forces. Together with the people and the youth, we will give a fitting reply.”
Standing atop a vehicle with senior leaders of the INDIA bloc, including RJD’s Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI general secretary D Raja, CPI (M) general secretary Mariam Alexander Baby, and VIP leader Mukesh Sahani, Gandhi addressed supporters near Shaheed Smarak. Police had erected barricades to prevent the protest march, which began at the Income Tax roundabout, from advancing. While workers of the alliance climbed the barricades, they did not cross them. A heavy police presence was deployed near the Assembly to prevent any breach.
Gandhi alleged that although the INDIA bloc secured a majority of seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Maharashtra, the subsequent Assembly election saw a dramatic and questionable shift. “After analysing the data, we found that one crore additional voters were added to the electoral rolls during the Assembly election,” he claimed.
He further stated that voter turnout in Maharashtra's Assembly elections increased by 10 percent. “Wherever the number of voters increased, the BJP won. Names of poor voters were systematically erased from the rolls as part of a well-planned conspiracy,” he added.
Rahul also alleged that the EC refused to provide the INDIA bloc with the voters’ list and videography of polling booths from Maharashtra. “They are hiding the truth. I say it clearly the mandate was stolen in Maharashtra, and now they’re trying the same in Bihar,” he asserted.
Gandhi said that INDIA bloc leaders had raised concerns about the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar during a meeting with the Election Commissioner. When he asked what the EC’s response was, they told him the Commissioner was “speaking the language of the BJP and RSS.”
“The Election Commissioner must remember that he is not a member of any political party his duty is to safeguard the Constitution,” Gandhi declared, warning that although the Commissioner may act freely now, the law would not spare him.
Addressing the gathering, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav added, “The Election Commission has become a puppet of the BJP. With its help, the BJP will first erase the votes of the poor and then take away their ration, pensions, and reservations ultimately stripping them of their right to vote.”
Tejashwi concluded with a note of defiance: “Bihar is the birthplace of democracy. Biharis will not allow this. They may be poor, but they are aware, alert, and ready for the struggle.”
