- Rahul Gandhi urged Bihar's Gen Z voters to decide the state's future in assembly polls
- He repeated allegations of massive vote theft in Haryana and other states
- Gandhi called for vigilance against vote manipulation and urged voting for Mahagathbandhan
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi repeated his "vote chori (theft)" allegation on Wednesday as he reached out to whom he called "Gen Z brothers and sisters" to decide Bihar's future. Voting in the first of the two-phase assembly election will be held on Thursday.
"My young friends of Bihar, my Gen Z brothers and sisters, tomorrow [Thursday] is not just a day of voting, it's the day to decide the future direction of Bihar. Many of you will be voting for the first time," Gandhi said in a post on X.
"This is not just your right, It is the greatest responsibility in a democracy," he added.
He requested young voters to turn up in large numbers and vote for the opposition alliance Mahagathbandhan.
"You have seen how massive vote theft was carried out in Haryana. In Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh - everywhere, these people tried to suppress the voice of the public. Now their eyes are on Bihar, on your vote, on your future," Gandhi, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said in a video message.
"Stay alert to every conspiracy and manipulation at the booths. The greatest strength of democracy is an aware citizenry. The future of Bihar is in your hands. Defeat this conspiracy of 'vote theft, government theft," he added.
Earlier on Wednesday, Gandhi described the alleged voter fraud in Haryana as a fundamental attack on India's democracy.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday alleged Gandhi is trying to “mislead and provoke Gen Z” with "fabricated" allegations of vote theft in Haryana. Rijiju said India's youth stand “firmly with Prime Minister Modi” and will not fall for “imported narratives and conspiracies”.
"The games he plays in collusion with anti-India forces will never succeed," Rijiju said.
The Bihar election is being held after an acrimonious battle between the Opposition and the ruling NDA, and also the Election Commission over the special intensive revision (SIR) voter roll clean-up exercise, which the Opposition alleged was meant to reduce the number of voters who may support the Opposition.
The Election Commission has refuted all the allegations. The matter even reached the Supreme Court.
Leaders of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) have called the Opposition "attack" on the Election Commission and the democratic system a conspiracy to plant the seeds of chaos.
The second phase of voting is on November 11; counting is on November 14.
