Congress MP and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has once again questioned the neutrality of the Election Commission (EC), this time accusing it of acting as the BJP’s “election theft wing” in the lead-up to the Bihar Assembly elections.
On Thursday, Gandhi posted a video on X, alleging that government officials in Bihar were seen completing voter forms and signing them without the knowledge or consent of the actual voters. He alleged this was part of a wider voter fraud effort, facilitated under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In Bihar, the Election Commission has been caught red-handed, committing voter fraud under the guise of ‘SIR’. Their only job appears to be theft, and they call it ‘SIR’. And if someone exposes it, an FIR is filed against them! Has the EC remained an Election Commission, or has it turned into the BJP’s Election Theft department? Rahul Gandhi questioned.
This isn’t the first time Rahul Gandhi has voiced concerns about the Election Commission’s neutrality. He had earlier cited discrepancies in Maharashtra’s election results and even penned an op-ed questioning the poll body’s credibility.
Meanwhile, on July 10, the Supreme Court granted permission to the EC to continue with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. However, the court advised the EC to consider accepting documents such as Aadhaar cards, ration cards, and voter IDs as valid proof of identity. The bench directed that if the EC chooses not to accept these, it must provide justifiable reasons.
As per the EC’s statement, 80.11% of Bihar’s voters had submitted their forms by Saturday evening. The Election Commission is targeting to wrap up the voter verification and form submission process by the July 25 deadline.
The Bihar Assembly elections are anticipated in October or November this year, although the EC has yet to officially declare the schedule.
Currently, the NDA coalition, comprising BJP, JD(U), and LJP holds 131 out of 243 seats in the Bihar Assembly. the BJP holds 80 seats, JD(U) has 45, HAM(S) holds 4, and 2 seats are independent. The INDIA bloc, formed by RJD, Congress, and Left parties, holds 111 seats, with RJD accounting for 77, Congress 19, CPI(ML) 11, and CPI(M) and CPI holding 2 each.