A ‘hydrogen bomb’ claim and other takeaways from a remarkable yatra

Patna witnessed one of the most spirited Congress-led demonstrations in decades on Monday as Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and former Bihar deputy chief minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav concluded their 16-day Voter Adhikar Yatra across Bihar. With Assembly elections in the state due in October–November, the event has very probably set the political tone in the state.

The highlight of the day came when Gandhi’s march was halted by police near Dak Bangla Chauraha. Instead of dispersing, thousands poured in from adjoining lanes to hear him speak.

Many shopkeepers even downed shutters to join the gathering. “He has become a voice for those whose voices are being silenced,” said one of them. In the process, he has also rejuvenated the state unit of his party, so that Patna's Gandhi Maidan turned into an ocean of Congress flags as the yatra ended with a huge rally for which supporters began gathering on Sunday night itself.

Addressing the massive crowd, Gandhi declared that Congress would soon release a “hydrogen bomb” of evidence on voter fraud, claiming that after its disclosure, Prime Minister Narendra Modi would “not be able to show his face to the country”.

His remarks drew loud cheers from the crowd, particularly when he accused Modi of facilitating vote theft or "vote chori" as he has been consistently calling it since 7 August, when he held a press conference to show the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls in Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Ahead of that press conference, Gandhi had announced that he would be presenting an "atom bomb" to the nation. Talk of a "hydrogen bomb", therefore, has naturally set the bar higher. As per an X post by Congress social media and digital platforms chairperson Supriya Shrinate, "hydrogen bomb = Haryana".

All through the yatra, wherever he has travelled, Gandhi has been exhorting crowds to join him in the slogan of 'vote chor, gaddi chhor (step down, vote thief)'. In every instance, the crowds have dutifully and joyfully roared along with him, making sure the message of electoral malpractices was embedded in the mind of every voter.

As RJD MP Sudhakar Singh pointed out to this correspondent, "This will have an impact on the entire country, the impression that the (BJP-led) NDA has come to power on the basis of vote theft. Lakhs of people came out on to the streets every day of the yatra to safeguard their votes."

Yet another key takeaway, Singh said, was the visible unity among Opposition INDIA bloc allies, and the dispelling of a "mistaken notion" amplified by a pliant media that there were no alternatives to the NDA.

The Voter Adhikar Yatra — with the tagline 'Gandhi Se Ambedkar Tak' to symbolise the Congress’ ideological journey — culminated in Patna with Gandhi repeating his charges of electoral malpractice in Maharashtra and Karnataka.

As Bihar Congress joint in-charge Shahnawaz Alam pointed out, the yatra drove home the point that it wasn't only about winning and losing elections. "People realise that if they are disenfranchised (thanks to the special intensive revision of vogter rolls in Bihar), they will lose access to government schemes and services. History has shown that when public rage reaches breaking point, it needs a face to express that rage. Rahul Gandhi has become that face. What you see here isn't just anger over one issue, it is rage against 20 years of a weak administration."

It is worth mentioning here that the Congress’ six-month investigation into electoral rolls in Mahadevapura uncovered over 1 lakh discrepancies. These included 11,965 duplicate entries, 40,009 voters with fake or invalid addresses, 10,454 bulk voters registered at single addresses, 4,132 invalid photographs, and 33,692 cases of alleged misuse of Form 6 (used to register new voters).

Gandhi also reiterated allegations of “industrial-scale rigging” in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of colluding with the BJP to help the latter win elections.

Political observers in Patna believe the Congress campaign has unsettled the BJP. However, BJP leader and Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad dismissed Gandhi’s remarks as “irresponsible”, saying, “Whenever I listen to Rahul Gandhi, inside or outside Parliament, it takes time to understand what he is trying to say. How are atom bombs and hydrogen bombs related to elections? Why are you [Gandhi] demeaning yourself as Leader of the Opposition?”

In the face of Gandhi's pinpoint accusations and the massive crowds flocking to his Voter Adhikar Yatra meetings, however, such talk has seemed increasingly irrelevant and evasive. In the weeks since the 7 August press conference, not a single point-by-point rebuttal of his accusations has come either from the BJP or the ECI.

The ECI has merely denied Gandhi's allegations. On 14 August, it termed Gandhi’s claims regarding Mahadevapura “false and misleading”. Earlier in February, the ECI described attempts to malign it by “parties disappointed with poll results” as “completely absurd”.

In a widely criticised and lampooned press conference, chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar dramatically declared that Gandhi would either have to "prove his allegations or apologise to the nation" within a week. Over a fortnight has passed since then. Kumar is presumably still waiting for the proof that Gandhi has already presented.