Voter Adhikar Yatra: Bihar has ‘fire in its eyes, soil heavy with every stolen vote’

As the pan-Bihar Voter Adhikar Yatra reached Muzaffarpur today, 27 August, INDIA bloc leaders Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav saw a host of allies share the dais with them to address the public in the Opposition campaign against 'vote chori' and the way the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being conducted in the poll-bound state.

Present today with the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the former deputy chief minister of Bihar, from the Congress and the RJD respectively, were Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin and his DMK colleague and sibling Kanimozhi, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AISF chief Kanhaiya Kumar and CPI(M-L) Liberation's Dipankar Bhattacharya (making his second appearance in the Yatra).

Earlier in the day, Gandhi Vadra — who joined the Yatra yesterday on its 10th day — was seen leading the bike rally out of Darbhanga, riding pillion behind her brother, alongside Tejashwi Yadav.

They would later be joined by the other INDIA bloc allies, before reaching Muzaffarpur, where they addressed the crowds.

Arriving in Bihar, Stalin posted on X to say that he found the “soil heavy with every stolen vote” — but that Bihar has “fire in its eyes” and the Voter Adhikar Yatra is transmuting the people’s pain into “unstoppable strength”

Kanimozhi too posted, to speak of the INDIA campaign against the “institutional capture” by the BJP and “the role of the ECI in independent India’s biggest vote theft”.

"A government born out of questionable voting is not the people’s government," she asserted.

"This is a march to defend democracy, protect the Constitution, and uphold the people’s mandate. UNITED, we raise our voice for INDIA’s democracy," she added.

Addressing the crowds, LoP Rahul Gandhi alleged again that the BJP has been securing election victories by “stealing votes” with the backing of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Claiming that the ‘Gujarat model’ of ‘vote chori’ was being rolled out nationwide, Gandhi added, “The BJP started stealing people’s votes from there. The BJP wins polls by stealing votes with the help of the ECI.”

"We will continue to provide evidence to show how votes in the assembly and Lok Sabha polls were stolen," Rahul Gandhi claimed at the Mazuffarpur rally.

Gandhi also demanded the Election Commission's explanation on the deletion of 65 lakh voters from the voter lists as part of the first phase of the SIR in Bihar.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu chief minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin accused the BJP of resorting to “vote theft” after failing to counter the growing popularity of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Speaking in support of the ongoing Voter Adhikar Yatra, Stalin alleged that the BJP, “unable to stop the victory of Rahul Gandhi-ji and Tejashwi Yadav-ji through democratic means, is now resorting to undemocratic paths like vote theft”.

Making a point of the “mockery” the BJP had made of democracy in India, Stalin alleged that the Bihar SIR was proving to be an exercise “more dangerous than terrorism”.

The DMK chief reiterated that the opposition INDIA bloc remains committed to protecting democratic values and ensuring free and fair elections. He also extended solidarity with the Congress and RJD leaders, stating that the BJP’s alleged misuse of institutions, including the Election Commission, was a “direct assault on the people’s mandate”.

Stalin’s remarks come amid mounting opposition criticism of large-scale voter deletions in Bihar and allegations that the ruling party is manipulating electoral processes to secure an advantage in the upcoming state elections.

“The way Rahul Gandhi-ji exposed the Election Commission’s manipulations, they had no answer. Instead, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is demanding an affidavit and an apology. But Rahul Gandhi-ji is not someone who bows to such intimidation — there is never fear in his eyes or in his words,” Stalin said.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who joined Gandhi and Yadav yesterday, had also hit out at the BJP in her address earlier, accusing the ruling party of betraying the people’s trust and undermining democracy.

“During the Lok Sabha elections, they tried to scare you by saying Congress would steal your buffalo. But in reality, it is they who are stealing your vote.

“They have already stolen your jobs, they have sold off public-sector undertakings, and now they want to snatch away your right to vote,” Gandhi Vadra said, urging people to resist what she described as an assault on their democratic rights.

“My fellow citizens,” the Congress MP posted on X yesterday, “Don't let your rights, your identity be stolen.’

In a post this afternoon, she highlighted a part of Gandhi’s address, where he related: “In Bihar, thousands of people told us — we have voted many times, but this time our names have been struck off. Living people have been 'killed' in the voter list.

“The Election Commission is not striking off the votes of the rich, but is striking off the votes of Dalits, backward classes, extremely backward classes, and minorities. Because BJP does not want your voice to be heard, your children to get their rights.”

Tejashwi Yadav, clearly being positioned as the chief ministerial face of the INDIA bloc in Bihar, pledged to the crowd gathered at Muzaffarpur: “The vigilant public of Bihar is the strength, the courage, the guiding light of the INDIA Mahagathbandhan. With the blessings of the people of Bihar, a Tejashwi government will be formed in Bihar!”

He went on to ask whether the people of the state wanted a chief minister who could think for themselves and articulate a new vision for Bihar, or merely a copycat.

Calling the ruling BJP-JDU dispensation led by Nitish Kumar a "nakalchi sarkar" [a government of mimics], he claimed it was carrying out the plans announced by Tejashwi himself, after the fact.

“Who promised 5 lakh jobs? Who spoke of increasing pensions? Who said there would be free electricity? Who brought up the domicile issue, spoke of the Yuva Ayog (youth scheme), the Mai-Behen Udyog (scheme for mothers and sisters)?” he asked, and finally put the question: “Now you tell me, do you want a duplicate CM or an original CM?”

Today the Yatra will continue to Sitamarhi before it pauses for the evening.

Having begun in Sasaram on 17 August, the state-wide progress continues via Motihari, Champaran, Gopalganj and Bhojpur, to culminate in a grand rally in Patna on 1 September.

The Yatra is the first part of a tripartite campaign by the INDIA bloc against 'Vote chori' and to preserve democracy and the right to 'one man, one vote'.

With PTI inputs