BJP attacks Robert Vadra for demanding fresh Bihar polls: 'Blame EC, EVM, SIR but never Rahul Gandhi'

Robert Vadra

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla sharply attacked Robert Vadra and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram after both questioned the credibility of the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections, which delivered a decisive victory to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) with 202 out of 243 seats.

His criticism came after Vadra suggested that the Bihar polls were “not conducted properly” and claimed that a fresh election would reverse the outcome.

Speaking in Indore during a religious visit to Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, Vadra argued that “the people of Bihar are actually not happy (with the poll result)” and alleged that “whatever has happened, it has happened because of the Election Commission. The Election Commission has helped.”

Without directly naming the NDA, he claimed that “no one agreed with the outcome” of the Bihar vote. According to him, his brother-in-law Rahul Gandhi planned to meet people the following day, asserting that “all the youth will join him, and they will launch a movement to protect democracy.”

He insisted that the elections “were not conducted properly” and maintained that a re-poll would change the verdict because “the country needs change” and “whatever wrong the government is doing, the youths do not like it.”

The Bihar results had given the NDA a commanding 202 seats in the 243-member assembly.

The BJP won 89 seats, while Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) bagged 85.

In contrast, the Mahagathbandhan -- comprising the Congress, RJD and smaller allies -- collapsed to just 35 seats. Within this alliance, the RJD managed only 25 seats and the Congress was reduced to six.

Before Vadra’s comments, Rahul Gandhi had already called the outcome “truly surprising” and said that “we could not achieve victory in an election that was not fair from the very beginning.” Vadra backed Rahul Gandhi by saying that the verdict “would change” if Bihar went back to the polls.

After Vadra’s remarks, Poonawalla cited Rahul Gandhi’s earlier electoral defeats in a pointed response. He wrote on X that after Chidambaram “blamed Bihar Ki Janta now Robert Vadra questions mandate,” and sarcastically remarked that “95 elections have been lost by his relative Rahul Gandhi.”

Yet, he said, the Congress ecosystem “still blame EC, EVM, Janta & SIR ka Data, but not the Beta.” He said that the Congress leaders blamed the EC, electronic voting machines, the public and even the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls but not their own 'son', referring to Gandhi.

The BJP spokesperson also targeted Chidambaram, who had authored an opinion piece titled “Voting is not the end of responsibilities.”

Chidambaram had written that Bihar’s social and economic distress made the voting pattern difficult to understand, stressing that there was “no explanation why the people voted as they did in the just-concluded elections.”

He argued that the poor and unemployed in the state should “re-discover the spirit of the Champaran era,” lamenting that it was “unfortunate” that Bihar did not elect a “strong Opposition.”

Poonawalla accused Chidambaram of faulting the electorate instead of the Congress leadership.

Referring to the op-ed, he wrote that the party had “once again chosen to defend it’s prince by blaming janta,” pointing out the line in which Chidambaram said “it is responsibility of voters to bring them to power.”

Calling the stance “entitled and delusional,” he argued that the Congress leadership preferred finding excuses rather than introspection. He added that the party routinely blames “EVM,” “SIR,” and even “Bihar ki Janta,” but “not Rahul Gandhi.”

The BJP spokesperson continued his attack by sharing a report quoting a Trinamool Congress figure who suggested that Mamata Banerjee would be a better choice to lead the INDIA bloc.

Reacting to that, he wrote, “Now TMC before Parliament session wants INDI alliance leader to be changed -- they have no confidence in Rahul Gandhi.”

He urged the Congress to “wake up and smell the coffee,” insisting that the larger Opposition partners see the party as a burden. In his words, “Congress = liability for INDI alliance partners.”