Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, launched the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram, Bihar, on Sunday, describing it as a battle to protect India’s Constitution. The 16-day campaign aims to raise awareness about voting rights and alleged electoral malpractices.

“This is a fight to save the Constitution. Across the country, RSS and BJP are trying to erase it,” Rahul Gandhi said before commencing the yatra. He accused the BJP of systematically manipulating elections, from assembly polls to Lok Sabha contests, through alleged tampering of electoral rolls and collusion with the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Citing Maharashtra as an example, Gandhi claimed that although the INDIA bloc won the Lok Sabha polls there, BJP swept the state assembly elections just four months later. “We investigated and found that the ECI added 1 crore new voters after the general elections. Wherever these voters were added, BJP won,” he alleged.

Rahul further claimed that in one Karnataka constituency, over one lakh votes were manipulated, directly helping BJP secure victory. He said Congress sought video evidence and voter data but was denied access by the ECI. “When we questioned this, the EC asked me to file an affidavit. But BJP leaders make similar claims without being asked. What kind of neutrality is this?” he asked.

Turning his focus to Bihar, Rahul warned that “vote theft is happening in Bihar” and vowed to prevent BJP from “stealing another election.” He reiterated his promise to conduct a true caste census and expose the alleged Special Institutional Registration (SIR) conspiracy if Congress comes to power. Gandhi also thanked RJD patriarch Lalu Prasad Yadav for attending the event despite health issues.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge called Bihar the “mother of democracy,” stressing that voting rights belong to the poor and marginalized. “This is not just a political campaign; it is a fight for India’s soul,” Kharge said, adding that democratic rights cannot be snatched through “bureaucratic manipulation or digital theft.”

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav echoed these sentiments, accusing the BJP of declaring people dead to remove names from voter lists. “This is not vote theft, it is dacoity,” he said, warning that Bihar will not tolerate attempts to crush the voice of the marginalized.