Patna – Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will embark on a 16-day, 1,300-km-long ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ across Bihar from Sasaram on Sunday. The march, joined by RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and other Mahagathbandhan leaders, will conclude with a mega rally in Patna on September 1.
The Congress has framed the yatra as a fight to safeguard the “one person, one vote” principle, alleging that the Election Commission has been reduced to a “compartment” of the BJP-led government.
In a post on X, Gandhi wrote in Hindi, “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’.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said at a press conference that whenever Rahul Gandhi undertakes a yatra, it becomes a turning point for Indian democracy. “This yatra will prove to be a milestone in the history of our democracy. We will not accept the Election Commission becoming a tool of the so-called double engine government,” he asserted.
The Congress and its INDIA bloc partners have been opposing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging that the exercise is aimed at “disenfranchising voters” ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year.
Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh alleged that the revision could strip 20% of voters in Bihar of their franchise. “When the draft list came out, massive irregularities were exposed. The BJP wants to steal votes, but we will go to every district to make people aware of their rights,” Singh said at a press briefing in Patna.
The yatra will cover more than 20 districts, including Aurangabad, Gaya, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Munger, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Purnea, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, and both Champarans, before ending in Patna.
Calling the campaign a direct fight against “vote chori,” Gandhi said the Congress would ensure clean electoral rolls nationwide. “This is not just an election issue but a decisive battle to protect democracy, the Constitution, and the right to vote,” he said.
