"New Conspiracy To Steal Bihar Elections": Rahul Gandhi On Poll Roll Revision

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched his 1,300 km-long 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' from Bihar's Sasaram to step up the Opposition INDIA bloc's campaign against what it claims to be "vote chori" (vote theft).

Mr Gandhi was joined by his party chief, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Gandhi said the 'Voter Adhikar Yatra', which will cover over 20 districts in the poll-bound state, is a "fight to save the Constitution".

LIVE: LAUNCH of #VoterAdhikarYatra | Sasaram, Bihar https://t.co/4vsY7oPMCk

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 17, 2025

He also attacked the Election Commission (EC) and said there was a "new conspiracy" to "steal" polls by deleting and adding voters through the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar.

"In the whole country, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are being stolen, and their last conspiracy is to delete and add voters through SIR to steal the elections in Bihar," he said.

He said the whole country now knows what the poll body is doing and how it is carrying out the vote "theft".

"The EC asked me to submit an affidavit after my press conference on 'vote chori' but did not ask the BJP leaders to do so when they made claims," Mr Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said.

वोटर अधिकार यात्रा ✊

📍 सासाराम, बिहार pic.twitter.com/f6yky8NpH4

— Congress (@INCIndia) August 17, 2025

"We will not let them steal elections in Bihar. The poor only have the power of their vote. We will not let them take it away," he said.

"In every election, the BJP wins. In Maharashtra, all opinion polls said the INDIA bloc will win. In the (2024) Lok Sabha (elections), our alliance had won, but after four months in the same Maharashtra, the BJP alliance swept the polls as one crore voters were added, and wherever such additions happened, the BJP won," he said.

Mr Gandhi and his INDIA bloc partners have been staging protests against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.

Calling it "vote chori", they have alleged that the Election Commission's exercise is aimed at "disenfranchising voters" in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections due later this year.

The poll body, however, has defended the exercise, saying many "non-eligible persons" have been able to procure voter cards as the SIR was not held periodically since 2004 and also that "many persons" have, knowingly or unknowingly, managed to retain multiple voter cards of different constituencies.

Rahul Gandhi's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra'

Rahul Gandhi's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' will cover over 20 districts in Bihar. It will pass through Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chapra and Ara.

16 दिन
20+ ज़िले
1,300+ कि.मी.

हम वोटर अधिकार यात्रा लेकर जनता के बीच आ रहे हैं।

यह सबसे बुनियादी लोकतांत्रिक अधिकार - ‘एक व्यक्ति, एक वोट' की रक्षा की लड़ाई है।

संविधान को बचाने के लिए बिहार में हमारे साथ जुड़िए। pic.twitter.com/4zturHDnOl

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 16, 2025

The 'yatra' will conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1.

Congress leaders have said it will be held in a hybrid mode, on foot and by vehicle, as was Mr Gandhi's Manipur to Mumbai 'Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra' ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP has ridiculed the 'yatra', saying the Congress and the RJD feel that "power is their right", but the public is "denying" them.

"They are just misleading people on the SIR," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told NDTV.

"The people of Bihar are with (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi and (Chief Minister) Nitish Kumar," he said, adding that the people of Bihar have "made up their mind" to elect the NDA government again.