Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi intensified his challenge to the Election Commission by launching his 1,300-kilometre ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram, Bihar, spotlighting concerns about electoral integrity.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rashtriya Janata Dal leaders Lalu Prasad Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav also joined the INDIA bloc’s campaign against what it claims to be “vote chori” or vote theft.
The ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’– which Gandhi described as a “fight to save the Constitution” — will cover 20 districts in the poll-bound state.
Gandhi accused the Election Commission of a new conspiracy to “steal” polls in Bihar through the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, alleging manipulation of voter lists.
LIVE: LAUNCH of #VoterAdhikarYatra | Sasaram, Bihar https://t.co/4vsY7oPMCk
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 17, 2025
He said the latest method to influence elections is manipulating voter lists through SIR in Bihar.
He further alleged that 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,” alleged the Congress MP.
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 added.