A new political journey is underway in Bihar, just before the assembly elections. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, initiated the ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ on Sunday from Sasaram, protesting alleged ‘vote theft’. On Monday, the journey continued in Gaya. Rahul Gandhi visited the Surya Dev temple in Gaya and addressed a public meeting in the evening. He also planned to stay overnight at the Rasalpur Cricket Ground in Gaya.
Several leaders from the opposition alliance ‘INDIA’, including former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, are participating in Rahul Gandhi’s yatra. Through this journey, Rahul Gandhi aims to regain lost support. The Congress party has not been in power on its own for nearly three decades. The Congress is now considered a secondary party in Bihar, and is part of the Grand Alliance, led by the Rashtriya Janata Dal. The Congress’s position is evident from the last election where it contested 70 seats in the 243-seat Bihar assembly and won 19. The Rashtriya Janata Dal contested 144 seats and secured victory in 75.
This voter rights journey is an attempt by Congress to regain its former identity. The party sees this as an excellent opportunity to improve its performance in Bihar before the elections. The yatra will span 16 days, covering 20 districts, and will travel a total distance of 1,300 kilometers.
The yatra will pass through cities like Aurangabad, Gaya Ji, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnia, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chhapra, and Arrah. Starting from Sasaram, the yatra is scheduled to conclude on September 1 in Patna, where a ‘Voter Rights Rally’ will be organized at the historic Gandhi Maidan. Several national-level leaders of the INDIA alliance will participate in this public meeting.
Rahul Gandhi has meticulously prepared for his ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ route. He began the yatra from Sasaram, which is considered a stronghold of Dalits. This area holds special significance due to Babu Jagjivan Ram and his daughter Meira Kumar. Both were elected as Members of Parliament from here multiple times. Babu Jagjivan Ram served as the Deputy Prime Minister of the country and narrowly missed becoming Prime Minister. His daughter Meira Kumar also held the position of Speaker of the Lok Sabha.
Muslims and Dalits have traditionally been considered as Congress’s core voters in Bihar. Through this yatra, Rahul and Tejashwi Yadav are trying to bring Dalit votes to their side, along with Muslims and Yadavs. Rahul Gandhi has visited Bihar six to seven times in the election year. During his Bihar visits, his focus has been on connecting with Dalit voters.
In June, when Rahul Gandhi visited Bihar, he visited Gaya. From the Gaya airport, Rahul went directly to the village of ‘Mountain Man’ Dashrath Manjhi, Gehlour. In Gehlour, he visited the Dashrath Manjhi Memorial and met his son Bhagirath Manjhi and his family members. He also drank coconut water with them. He also arranged for the construction of a 4-room house for the Manjhi family. He expedited the work for this.
Bhagirath Manjhi, who was once associated with the Janata Dal United, has now joined the Congress. He wants to contest the next election. The party is also trying to field him in the contest. Bhagirath had visited Delhi in January this year and joined the Congress in the presence of Rahul Gandhi.
The Gaya district, chosen by Rahul Gandhi for the ‘Voter Rights Yatra,’ is crucial for the Grand Alliance. It is a Dalit-dominated area. The district has 10 assembly seats, with the NDA winning 5 seats in the 2020 assembly elections and the Grand Alliance also winning 5 seats. However, the Rashtriya Janata Dal won all five seats in the Grand Alliance. In the by-election held last year in the Belaganj seat, JDU won the seat.
Meanwhile, the Hindustan Awam Morcha, a party of Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, contested in seven seats in its second election and won four seats. Three of these four seats were from the Gaya region. Out of the five seats, the Hindustan Awam Morcha won three, while the remaining two went to the BJP. People from the Manjhi community, along with the Paswan, Dhobi, and Pasi communities, also reside in large numbers here.
The Congress is focused on winning back its core Dalit vote bank. The Grand Alliance performed strongly in the neighboring Aurangabad and captured all 6 seats in the 2020 elections. However, the Grand Alliance has been a little weak in Nalanda and Newada. In Nalanda, the NDA won 6 out of 7 seats while one seat went to the Grand Alliance. Similarly, the Grand Alliance won 4 out of 5 seats in Newada, while one seat went to the NDA.
In the 1990s, the Congress’s vote share in Bihar was 24.78 percent, but it steadily declined. In 2015, the Congress’s vote share was only 6.7 percent, and in 2020, it improved slightly to 9.48 percent. Rahul has organized several rallies and events to connect with Dalits. He also handed over the command of the Bihar Pradesh Congress to Dalit leader Rajesh Ram. He also appointed another Dalit leader, Sushil Pasi, as the co-in-charge of the party to show himself as a well-wisher of this community. Rahul Gandhi is now trying to provide further proof of his goodwill by conducting this yatra from Dalit-Muslim-dominated areas. It remains to be seen what impact these efforts have on the voters of Bihar.
