Amidst the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, a political battle is brewing between Rahul Gandhi and the Election Commission. The Congress leader has escalated his stance, declaring that if the ‘INDIA’ alliance forms the government at the center, strict action will be taken against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the other election commissioners regarding alleged ‘vote theft.’ He further asserted that ‘vote theft’ constitutes an attack on Bharat Mata.
Initially critical of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar, Rahul Gandhi has now turned his focus towards the Election Commission, accusing them of ‘vote theft.’ He has launched a ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ in Bihar, a 16-day journey covering 20 districts and 1300 kilometers. This yatra, which includes several opposition leaders, has already ignited the electoral atmosphere in Bihar.
During a rally in Gaya, Rahul Gandhi announced his intention to take action concerning alleged election fraud. Following repeated accusations by the Congress leader, the Election Commission stated in its press conference on Sunday that Rahul Gandhi must submit an affidavit within seven days to support his claims, failing which his claims would be deemed invalid. Responding to this, Rahul Gandhi announced during a rally in Gaya on Monday that the ‘INDIA’ alliance government, if formed in the center and Bihar, would take stringent action against the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other election commissioners for alleged ‘vote theft.’
Addressing the public gathering in Gaya on Monday, he stated, ‘The Election Commission demands an affidavit within a week, even though they are the ones whose theft has been exposed. They ask me for an affidavit. I want to tell the commission that the entire country will demand an affidavit from you. We will expose your theft in every state, every Lok Sabha constituency, every assembly constituency, and show it to the entire country.’
Earlier, in his first press conference after the accusations of vote theft in the last Lok Sabha elections and the opposition’s constant attacks on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of voter lists in Bihar, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gynesh Kumar said that Rahul Gandhi should either apologize or present his claims with a signed affidavit as per election rules.
He sternly stated, ‘He should either submit an affidavit or apologize to the nation. There is no third option in this matter. If an affidavit is not submitted within the next 7 days, the claims will be considered baseless and invalid.’ However, during his approximately one-and-a-half-hour-long press conference, Gynesh Kumar did not specify what action would be taken if the affidavit was not submitted.
Furthermore, the Chief Election Commissioner dismissed allegations of double voting and vote theft as baseless, stating that all stakeholders are working to make the SIR process successful in a transparent manner. He added, ‘It is a matter of serious concern that some political parties and their leaders are spreading false information regarding SIR in Bihar. These parties can file claims and objections on the draft voter list.’
On July 31st of the previous month, Rahul Gandhi, while accusing vote theft in the elections, presented data from the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that over a lakh votes were stolen in the Mahadevpura assembly constituency of Karnataka. Rahul Gandhi had accused similar irregularities in elections in other states as well. Although the Chief Election Officers of several states asked Rahul to submit an affidavit on his claims, Gandhi refused to do so.
Pawan Khera, the head of the Congress media department, stated that the Congress is not intimidated by the Election Commission’s demands for an affidavit. He said, ‘The impact of the Voter Rights Yatra is such that Gynesh Kumar Gupta had to hold a press conference as soon as it began. When he appeared yesterday, he threatened to provide an affidavit or apologize. But perhaps he forgot that we are not afraid of threats.’
Rahul Gandhi has initiated the ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ before the elections in Bihar. On Monday, he began the second day of the yatra from Aurangabad’s Kutumba, which reached Gaya district via RafiGanj. Several leaders from the Grand Alliance, including Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Vikassheel Insaan Party chief Mukesh Sahni, participated in this yatra.
