Rahul Gandhi to launch 16-day ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar from August 17

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will launch the ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ from Sasaram on Sunday (August 17) in a bid to highlight alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process in Bihar. The 16-day, 1,300-km yatra will culminate with a rally in Patna on September 1, with the participation of RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and other INDIA bloc leaders.

The Congress has accused the Election Commission (EC) of acting as a “compartment” of the BJP-led “twin-engine government”, alleging disenfranchisement of voters through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the Bihar assembly elections.

“Every time Rahul Gandhi embarks on a yatra, Indian democracy takes a new turn. It will be a historic march for voters’ rights,” Pawan Khera, head of the Congress media department, said at a press conference in New Delhi.

Terming the yatra as a struggle to uphold the constitutional principle of ‘one person, one vote’, Khera alleged that the EC review process is a “conspiracy to disenfranchise Dalits, minorities and the marginalized”.
“The BJP has been caught red-handed manipulating the electoral roll. It is not just about elections, it is also about impersonation and silencing participation,” he added, citing citizen reports and Supreme Court intervention.

The yatra is part of the Congress’ broader ‘Voter Awareness Campaign’, which aims to mobilize public opinion against what it calls ‘vote chori’ (vote theft). Gandhi echoed this sentiment in a recent statement: “This is a direct battle to defend democracy, the Constitution and the right to vote. We are committed to ensuring a clean electoral roll across India.

At a parallel press briefing in Patna, Congress MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh claimed that EC officials had admitted that up to 20 per cent of voters in Bihar could lose their voting rights under the current revision of rolls. He criticized the state government for avoiding discussing the issue in the Assembly and appealed to citizens to participate in the yatra.

“Rahul Gandhi is the voice of the poor, women, farmers and workers. This yatra is a fight to protect their rights,” Singh said.

The march will pass through key districts including Aurangabad, Gaya, Nalanda, Bhagalpur, Purnea, Darbhanga and Champaran, covering a large part of the state.

The Congress presented the yatra as both a political and constitutional mission, pledging to take its “do or die” campaign against alleged voter suppression directly to the people.