Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will launch a 16-day ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram on Sunday, seeking to transform the escalating “vote chori” row into a mass political mobilisation across Bihar. Party officials said the march is aimed at safeguarding the constitutional principle of ‘one person-one vote’ in the face of alleged attempts to disenfranchise vulnerable communities.
The yatra, which covers 1,300 km and concludes in Patna on September 1, will be joined by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan allies. Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera told reporters at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi that the campaign will “prove to be a milestone in the history of our democracy”.
“Whenever Rahul Gandhi ji has set out for a yatra, the democracy of this country has turned a page. ‘Voter Rights Yatra’ will be a historic march,” he said. Khera added, “We will not accept that the Election Commission becomes a compartment of this so-called ‘double engine’. We are fighting against this and will continue to do so in the future.”
The Congress has accused the Election Commission of conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar in order to “disenfranchise voters” before the assembly elections later this year.
Calling on the people of Bihar to join the yatra, Khera said, “The yatra is a journey to make people aware because the conspirators will not be deterred and they will try to steal votes.” He also said the concluding rally in Patna would see major participation from INDIA bloc constituents.
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Gandhi, who described the campaign as a “direct fight against ‘vote chori’ from Bihar”, said, “Vote chori is not just an election issue but a decisive battle to protect democracy, the Constitution and the principle of ‘one man, one vote’.”
At a separate press conference in Patna, Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh claimed that during a meeting with INDIA bloc leaders, the Election Commission had conceded that 20 per cent of voters in Bihar could lose their franchise. “When the new draft list came out after SIR in Bihar, many irregularities were revealed,” he said. Singh added that the Congress will launch a voter awareness campaign in all districts “so that people are not deprived of their rights”.
He further said, “Rahul Gandhi is the voice of the poor, deprived, women, farmers and labourers of the country… we request the people of Bihar to take part in this journey and help us in foiling the plans of the Election Commission-BJP.”
The yatra will travel through key districts including Aurangabad, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Araria, Darbhanga, East and West Champaran, Katihar, and Siwan.
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