Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 9: Thousands of people joined as the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav and other allies of the INDIA bloc, led the “Bihar bandh” protest march in Patna on Wednesday against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar by the Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging that the exercise aimed at disenfranchising marginalised voters ahead of the state Assembly elections scheduled later this year.
Leaders of the three Left parties and Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) chief Mukesh Sahani also joined the protest, standing beside Mr Gandhi and Mr Yadav on the open jeep at the head of the protesters. Several senior leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc, including CPI General Secretary D Raja, CPI (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram, Kanhaiya Kumar, and Sanjay Yadav, also participated in the protest.
The Opposition leaders attempted to march to the State Election Commission office but were stopped by district officials near the State Assembly. A minor scuffle between the police and protestors ensued. The march earlier passed by the BJP’s State headquarters on Beerchand Patel Road in Patna, where a significant deployment of security personnel was seen.
Later Mr Gandhi addressed the protesters targeting the Election Commission which, he said, was acting at the behest of the ruling BJP. Holding a copy of the Constitution in hand Mr Gandhi said, “SIR is not only an attempt to steal your vote but also of your future. But the youths of Bihar will not let it happen as the entire Opposition stands with you.” The gathering, largely comprising students and young supporters, responded with loud cheers.
The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged that the Election Commission had lost its independence. “The Election Commissioner used to be above political parties, but today they’re being nominated by the BJP and RSS,” Mr Gandhi charged.
Mr Gandhi reopened the Maharashtra Assembly election issue and warned that the pattern of electoral manipulation seen in Maharashtra could be repeated in Bihar. “The way there was vote theft in the Maharashtra elections, a similar attempt is being made in Bihar.” Mr Gandhi raised questions over the rise in voter numbers between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in Maharashtra, alleging that all newly added votes went to the BJP.
He claimed that the INDIA alliance’s poor performance in the Maharashtra Assembly polls, despite a Lok Sabha majority, prompted a deeper data review that revealed suspicious voting patterns. He also pointed out that during few months between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, one crore new voters were added, and in the assembly elections, 10 per cent more people voted.
“Shortly after the Lok Sabha elections, assembly elections were held in Maharashtra and Haryana. In the Lok Sabha elections, the INDIA alliance got a majority in Maharashtra. But just a few months later, in the assembly elections, the INDIA alliance did poorly. We didn’t say much at the time, but we started working and looking into the matter.
“The 21st century is the century of data, so we started studying the data. As we looked into it, we discovered that between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, one crore new voters were added. In the assembly elections, 10 per cent more people voted. When we checked where these new voters came from, we were surprised. In every constituency where voter numbers increased, the BJP won. All the new votes went to the BJP.”
Mr Gandhi accused the Election Commission of withholding crucial voter data and booth videography from the Maharashtra Assembly elections, alleging irregularities in voter registration. “We have come to Bihar, where people became martyrs for the Constitution. Our Constitution states that every citizen of India has the right to vote. I want to tell the people of India and Bihar that just as the Maharashtra election was stolen, an attempt is being made to steal the Bihar election in the same way. They have realised that we have understood the Maharashtra model, so now they have brought the Bihar model. I want to tell you that this is a way to snatch the votes of the poor, but they don’t know that this is Bihar, and the people of Bihar will never let this happen,” he said.
He claimed that thousands of voters were registered in single buildings while the names of poor voters were removed, and despite repeated requests, the Commission has remained silent and even changed videography rules to “hide the truth.”
“In some buildings, 4,000 to 5,000 voters were registered. Meanwhile, the votes of poor people were removed. When we asked the Election Commission for the voter list and the videography from polling booths, they stayed completely silent. Not once, but many times, we asked them. The law says we should be given the voter list. The law also says we should get the booth videography. But to this day, we haven’t received the voter list from Maharashtra. They even changed the videography rules, because they want to hide the truth,” Mr Gandhi said.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav echoed the criticism, accusing the Election Commission of India (ECI) of functioning like an “arm of a political party.” Referring obliquely to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he said, “Will two people from Gujarat decide which Bihari voter can vote and which cannot?”
“The Election Commission has lost its credibility. Preparations are underway to remove a large number of voters from the voter list. First, their names will be removed, then their pensions and their rations will also be eventually taken away,” Mr Yadav claimed.
The Independent MP from Purnia, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, also led parallel protests and attempted to disrupt train movement at the Secretariat Halt railway station. His supporters blocked road and rail traffic across several north Bihar districts, including Araria, Purnia, Katihar and Muzaffarpur. Protestors also disrupted movement at Bhojpur (Ara), Arwal, Darbhanga and Jehanabad, setting tyres ablaze on National Highway-30 in Patna district.
“The Election Commission through SIR is, in fact, snatching voting rights from migrants, Dalits, Mahadalits and poor voters. It is a conspiracy to block votes ahead of the state Assembly elections,” Mr Yadav alleged.
Reacting to the protests, senior BJP leader and Patna Sahib MP Ravi Shankar Prasad accused the Opposition of politicising a routine electoral process. “Today, the Opposition parties have called a Bihar bandh against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Bihar LoP Tejashwi Yadav and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders have taken to the streets,” he said at a press conference.
“In our country, citizens vote from where they live. So what is their problem if a revision of voter lists is done?” he asked. State BJP leaders described the bandh as a “flop show”, claiming minimal public response.
Meanwhile, the Congress leader Kanhaiya Kumar and Purnia MP Pappu Yadav, who has merged his party with the Congress, were stopped from boarding the open van with Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav and some other senior politicians on it. Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav were about to climb the stairs to the van when they were stopped by some personnel who were in charge of ensuring the security of Mr Gandhi and other leaders. Videos of both leaders being stopped are now being widely shared.
In one of the videos, Mr Yadav can be seen trying to climb the stairs and was even being helped by someone before he was stopped. Other leaders can be seen being allowed on board, but when Mr Kumar’s turn comes, he was stopped too. It is unclear why the two leaders were not allowed to board the van. The JDU-led ruling alliance in Bihar has, however, already hit out at the opposition INDIA bloc and said the incident indicates that leaders like Mr Kumar and Mr Yadav are not treated well by the Congress and its senior members like Mr Gandhi.
The leaders were initially marching on foot but a decision was taken to continue the rally in the open van after the crowd started to become very large. Kanhaiya Kumar, who is originally from Bihar, was the Congress candidate for the North East Delhi constituency in last year’s Lok Sabha elections. He lost to Manoj Tiwari of the BJP.
Pappu Yadav, aka Rajesh Ranjan, had merged his Jan Adhikar Party with the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha elections last year but had contested – and won – from Purnia as an Independent after the constituency went to the RJD in the seat-sharing negotiations. His wife, Ranjeet Ranjan, is a Rajya Sabha MP from the Congress.
