'We won’t let them steal Bihar': Rahul Gandhi, INDIA bloc turn voter rights into election war cry

Denied permission for a grand rally by the city administration, the Opposition has planned simultaneous addresses at multiple protest sites in Patna instead.

Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday warned that the Opposition will not allow the BJP to “steal” the upcoming Bihar Assembly election.

“They stole the election in Maharashtra, did it in Haryana, stole votes in the Lok Sabha election, but we will not let them steal the Bihar election,” he declared while addressing a gathering in Bhojpur during the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’.

Earlier in Arrah, Rahul Gandhi was seen diffusing tension with humour, offering candies to Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers who waved black flags at him over his remarks against the Prime Minister at a recent Mahagathbandhan rally.

Tejashwi Yadav: ‘NDA rattled by historic yatra’

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav claimed that the opposition march has left the ruling NDA anxious.

“BJP is scared, and because of this historic yatra, NDA has become very uneasy. They are doing everything they can, and we have a close eye on everything. No matter how hard they try, they will not come back to power in Bihar,” Yadav told ANI.

The Yatra, he added, is not just symbolic but a direct protest against irregularities in the electoral roll revision.

Akhilesh Yadav takes aim at Election Commission

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who joined the Yatra in Patna, launched a blistering attack on the Election Commission, accusing it of siding with the BJP.

“The ECI has become the ‘Jugaad Commission’ of the BJP. Rights guaranteed by the Constitution are being subverted. But the voice of Bihar is being heard across the country, and this time BJP is going out of Bihar,” he said.

A march for voter rights, not just votes

The ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi and Mahagathbandhan leaders, has travelled over 1,300 km across 20 districts and is set to culminate in Patna on September 1.

Denied permission for a grand rally by the city administration, the Opposition has planned simultaneous addresses at multiple protest sites in Patna instead.

The march aims to raise awareness about voter rights while spotlighting alleged “vote theft” and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

Bihar’s high-stakes election looms

The Election Commission has yet to announce the official schedule, but Bihar’s Assembly election is expected later this year. For the INDIA bloc, the Yatra is both a campaign plank and a battle cry against what they claim is the BJP’s systematic undermining of elections across states.