'EC Asked Me For Affidavit On 'Vote Chori' Claims But Not BJP leaders': Rahul Gandhi In Bihar's Sasaram - VIDEO

Sasaram: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday (17 August) launched the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram, doubling down on his allegations that the Election Commission of India (ECI) aided the BJP in what he has repeatedly described as “vote chori” (vote theft).

Speaking at the launch, Gandhi claimed, “The EC asked me to submit an affidavit after my presser on vote chori, but did not ask BJP leaders to do the same when they made similar claims.”

The 16-day yatra will cover 20 districts and 1,300 kilometres, beginning in Rohtas and concluding in Patna. The campaign is being organised in protest against the Election Commission’s voter list SIR 2025.

Rahul Gandhi is joined by key INDIA bloc allies, including RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and former Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav, who reached Sasaram to participate in the yatra. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, along with other senior state leaders, also flagged off the march. Bihar Congress has made extensive preparations, with nearly all state leaders mobilised to ensure the programme’s success.

Earlier, on 7 August, Gandhi had alleged large-scale manipulation of electoral rolls in Karnataka, claiming irregularities in over 1 lakh votes. He cited instances of 11,965 duplicate voters, 40,009 voters with fake or invalid addresses, 10,452 bulk voters registered to a single address, 4,132 voters with invalid photographs, and 33,692 cases of misuse of Form 6 for new voter registration.

The Congress has said the yatra is aimed at building public awareness on voter rights and strengthening its campaign narrative ahead of the upcoming elections.