Key INDIA bloc allies reinforce message of unity during Voter Adhikar Yatra

Seven days after the launch of the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, the Opposition INDIA bloc sought to project unity on Sunday with three key allies — Congress, RJD and CPI(ML) — addressing their first joint press conference in Bihar’s Araria on Sunday.

Congress MP and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi mounted a direct attack on both the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI), saying "there is a partnership" between the two.

He alleged that the BJP and the ECI were working in tandem, and termed the Bihar SIR (special intensive revision) an “institutional method of vote theft”.

He pointed out that nearly 65 lakh names had been deleted from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls and all the Opposition parties had spoken against it, except the BJP. He also recalled how ECI asked him to submit an affidavit within minutes of his 7 August press conference, during which he used the ECI's own data to claim that 1 lakh-plus "fake voters" in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency had helped swing the seat in the BJP's favour.

Since then, he has helped popularise the slogan 'vote chor, gaddi chhor (step down, vote thief)', repeating it frequently during the Voter Adhikar Yatra.

“The Election Commission asked me for an affidavit, but when BJP’s Anurag Thakur held a press conference repeating the same points, he was not asked for one. This shows the Commission is not neutral,” Rahul said, adding that the campaign against "vote chori" had begun to penetrate “deep into society”.

The Congress leader also widened the charge beyond Bihar, saying the Commission had failed in its primary task of ensuring correct voter lists in Maharashtra, Haryana and Karnataka as well. “We will not allow election theft in Bihar. No matter what you do, we will stop it,” he asserted.

Asked whether the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav would be the chief ministerial face of the INDIA bloc in Bihar, Rahul sidestepped the question but underlined the cohesion within the bloc: “All alliance partners in Bihar are united. Our ideology is the same and our common goal is to stop vote theft.”

CPI(ML) general-secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya sharpened the attack, describing the ECI as the “Election Omission”. He also said that Chunav Aayog (the EC in Hindi) has become chunauti aayog (challenge commission).

“Creating a clean voter list is the responsibility of the Election Commission. Political parties and civil society are willing to help, but the Commission is abdicating its duty. Public support for the yatra shows people want change with full force,” Bhattacharya said.

RJD leader and former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, meanwhile, directed his fire at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “No prime minister has been a bigger liar than Narendra Modi. No one matches him in spreading poison and rumors. But this is Bihar — we will not let democracy and the Constitution be destroyed,” he said.

The Vote Adhikar Yatra — which aims to highlight voter list manipulation and other electoral malpractices — will continue until 1 September, ending at Patna's famed Gandhi Maidan.

Leaders of the alliance say the drive is not only about Bihar but about ensuring “electoral integrity” across the country, a theme they hope to consolidate ahead of the upcoming state Assembly elections.