Opposition’s colours fly high as ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ ends in Patna

Patna is set to witness a symbolic show of Opposition strength on Monday, 1 September, as Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and Trinamool Congress leaders Yusuf Pathan and Lalitesh Tripathi march alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at the grand finale of the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’.

While Pathan and Tripathi have already reached the Bihar capital, Soren is expected to arrive in the morning, adding weight to what is being billed as a defining moment for the INDIA bloc in the state.

JMM general secretary Vinod Pandey said Soren, Rahul Gandhi, and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav will march together in what he called a “historic occasion” and a “show of strength for opposition unity.” The ‘Mahagathbandhan’ rally will mark the culmination of the 1,300-km yatra, which traversed over 110 Bihar assembly constituencies and is seen as a precursor to the state’s upcoming election campaign.

Pandey accused the BJP and the Election Commission of conspiring through the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to deprive poor, backward, minority, Dalit, tribal, and farming communities of their voting rights. He said Jharkhand’s Assembly has already passed a resolution against the SIR, describing it as a “direct attack on democracy.”

Echoing this, Tripathi told reporters in Kolkata before leaving for Patna that the TMC would use the yatra to highlight “vote chori” (stealing of votes) and carry Mamata Banerjee’s message to the people. Former cricketer Yusuf Pathan voiced similar views. Both parties are part of the national Opposition bloc INDIA.

The massive ‘Gandhi se Ambedkar’ procession will begin at 11:15 am from Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan with floral tributes at Mahatma Gandhi’s statue. It will then move through S P Verma Road, Dak Bunglow Crossing, Kotwali Thana, Nehru Path, and Income Tax Roundabout before culminating at the B. R. Ambedkar statue near Patna High Court.

“Senior INDIA bloc leaders will pay homage to Ambedkar there before addressing a public meeting,” Bihar Congress media chief Rajesh Rathod said.

Launched by Rahul Gandhi on 17 August, the yatra has focused on alleged voter suppression in Bihar. Opposition parties claim the deletion of 65 lakh names from draft electoral rolls amounts to an “assault” on voting rights. The Election Commission published the names following a Supreme Court directive to release the list by 19 August and file a compliance report by 22 August.

With agency inputs