Bihar Elections 2025: The ‘Gandhi se Ambedkar’ march was organised to mark the culmination of Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar. The procession was led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and joined by party President Mallikarjun Kharge, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, TMC MP Yusuf Pathan and other INDIA bloc leaders.
The Voter Adhikar Yatra concluded today at the iconic Gandhi Maidan in Patna after a 17-day, 1,300-km-long march across 25 districts of poll-bound Bihar.
The Yatra, a 16-day campaign, was embarked by Mr Gandhi against the alleged theft of votes through the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, months ahead of the assembly election in the state.
The Yatra commenced on August 17 from Sasaram
The Bihar Assembly elections are expected to be held in October or November this year. However, the Election Commission is yet to announce dates.
In a post on X, the Congress wrote citing Rahul Gandhi, “Now the hydrogen bomb of ‘vote theft’ will come. Vote theft is the theft of your rights. We will not allow the murder of the Constitution. Bihar’s message is- We will not allow ‘vote theft’ Listen.”
Opposition Criticises Bihar SIR
The opposition has strongly criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in Bihar. Leaders claimed that the removal of millions of names amounted to tampering with votes and disenfranchising vulnerable communities.
The campaign also intends to mobilise public support ahead of future elections. Senior party leaders have described the yatra as an attempt to expose irregularities and build momentum for clean and fair electoral practices in India.
ECI Rebuts Vote Theft Allegations
The Election Commission of India, on the officially last day (Monday, Sept 1, 2025), stated that 25 claims have been filed for inclusion in and 119 objections have been raised for exclusion by political parties from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The Supreme Court recently allowed excluded voters to apply for inclusion online in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The court said that they can apply on the basis of Aadhaar or any of the 11 prescribed documents.
The Opposition has alleged ‘Vote Theft’. However, the Election Commission rebutted allegations of vote theft and defended SIR in Bihar.
In a press conference, CEC Gyanesh Kumar said that during the Lok Sabha elections, over one crore employees, more than 10 lakh booth-level agents, and over 20 lakh polling agents of candidates work for the electoral process. And in such a transparent process, it would even be possible for any voter to steal votes.
Taking a veiled dig at Rahul Gandhi, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar further said it is mandatory to submit a “Constitution oath” as a witness if he is not a voter of the constituency the complaint is being made for. The Election Commission also asked Rahul Gandhi to either submit an affidavit within seven days or apologise for his allegations.
However, during the launch of the Voter Adhikar Rally in Sasaram, Bihar, Mr Gandhi said, “He will expose any theft of votes, whether it happens in Maharashtra, Bihar, or elsewhere in the future.”
