Will not let 'conspiracy' to 'steal' Bihar polls through SIR succeed: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday said the whole country now knows that the Election Commission is "stealing" elections in collusion with the BJP and asserted that the INDIA bloc will not let them succeed in their "conspiracy" to steal Bihar Assembly polls by voter additions and deletions through the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Addressing the gathering here at the launch event of his 1,300 km 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' covering over 20 districts in Bihar, Gandhi said while he was asked to submit an affidavit after his press conference exposing " vote chori", no such demand was made from BJP leaders who made claims in their presser.

"In the whole country, Assembly and Lok Sabha elections are being stolen and their last conspiracy is to delete and add voters through SIR to steal the elections in Bihar," Gandhi charged.

"We will not let them steal the election in Bihar. People of Bihar will not let them steal elections. Poor only have the power of vote and will not let them steal polls," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

He said the whole country now knows what the EC is doing and how it is carrying out this "theft".

Gandhi said his press conference a few days back had exposed how "vote chori" is being carried out.

He asserted that it is a fight to save the Constitution.

Gandhi alleged that in the whole of India, the RSS and BJP are trying to "destroy" the Constitution.

"In every election BJP wins. In Maharashtra all opinion polls said the INDIA bloc will win. In the Lok Sabha, our alliance had won but after four months in same Maharashtra, BJP alliance swept the polls as one crore voters were added and wherever such additions happened BJP won," Gandhi said.

He said the Congress had showed that over one lakh votes were stolen in one assembly segment and the BJP won that Lok Sabha seat.

The Yatra launch event here was attended by the likes of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD chief Lalu Prasad, Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav, Vikassheel Insaan Party's Mukesh Sahani, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, CPI(M)'s Subhashini Ali and CPI's P Sandosh Kumar.

With the Assembly polls barely three months away, Gandhi, along with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, launched the 1300 km yatra from BIADA Ground, Sasaram, and after 16 days, the yatra will conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1.

In a post in Hindi on X on Saturday, Gandhi had said, "16 days, 20+ districts, 1,300+ km. We are coming among the people with the Voter Adhikar Yatra. This is a fight to protect the most basic democratic right - 'one person, one vote'."

"Join us in Bihar to save the Constitution," he added.

The 'yatra' will be in a hybrid mode, on foot and by vehicle, as was Gandhi's Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, party leaders said.

The 'yatra' will pass through Aurangabad, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chapra and Ara.