On Monday, the Opposition INDIA group finished its high-energy “Voter Adhikar Yatra” with a big foot march in Patna that brought together important leaders including Rahul Gandhi of the Congress Party and Tejashwi Yadav of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The march was the end of a campaign that covered more than 1,300 km and more than 110 assembly constituencies in Bihar. Leaders vehemently opposed the NDA administration and the Election Commission’s claimed “vote theft.”
During the yatra, which began in mid-August, members of the Mahagathbandhan, including CPI-ML’s Dipankar Bhattacharya and Vikassheel Insan Party’s Mukesh Sahani, spoke out against what they called “blatant destruction of democracy.” The primary emphasis of their message was the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of election rolls in Bihar. They argue that this is how the ruling alliance may get rid of voters’ names.
The Congress has labeled the yatra a “milestone in Bihar’s long history of movements by the people.” There were a number of people saying “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhor” (Vote thief, abandon the throne) during the yatra. K.C. Venugopal, the General Secretary of the Congress Party, stated on X that the yatra gave the people of Bihar “a ray of hope” because their “one true power—the right to vote—is being stolen.”
During the campaign, the opposition worked together, but there were still some issues. The BJP was very upset when a video from a public meeting in Darbhanga showed someone swearing at Prime Minister Modi. The INDIA bloc, on the other side, says that the event is a tactic to discredit the yatra.
As the Bihar Assembly elections approach near, the INDIA bloc sees the end of the “Voter Adhikar Yatra” as a great display of power. It shows that they are willing to fight the NDA in the state where the elections are taking place.