The Voter Adhikar Yatra has the support of all INDIA bloc constituents, recently DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was also spotted in Bihar
Lending support to Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday joined his Voter Adhikar Yatra’ with senior Congress leader KC Venugopal calling him a “steadfast ally” in the fight against the BJP’s alleged attempt to destroy the country’s democracy. “He has been a steadfast ally in our fight against the BJP’s destruction of our democracy, and a strong voice for the poor and underprivileged in UP and across the country,” Venugopal said.
Speaking to media persons, Akhilesh said the people of Awadh have removed BJP, now the people of Magadh will also remove it. “The people of Bihar are going to conduct an SIR on the Election Commission, which has become a ‘Jugaad Commission’ of the BJP… ‘BJP ka Bihar se palayan hone jaa raha hai’” he said
Gandhi launched the yatra from Sasaram in Rohtas district on August 17 to protest against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav as constant support. The yatra has the blessings of all INDIA bloc constituents, recently DMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin was also spotted in Bihar.
Voter Adhikar Yatra
With posters, banners, cut-outs, and hoardings against ‘vote chori’‘(vote theft) along the route, the yatra has covered several districts and has been quite a crowd-puller and Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav have drawn large gatherings, stopping by to meet and listen to supporters. At one point, the two also led on motorcycles. Rahul Gandhi also gave a new slogan “vote chor gaddi chhor” (vote thief leave the throne), underlining INDIA bloc’s allegations that genuine voters had been eliminated from draft rolls and thousands of voters with “ghost addresses” added
The main objective, of course, has been to protest against alleged voter disenfranchisement via the SIR process, highlight and oppose the exercise which Congress alleges is being used to disenfranchise key communities—especially Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, and economically weaker groups—by incorrectly deleting or adding voters’ names.
The yatra also mobilised allies across the INDIA/Mahagathbandhan alliance and provoked substantial reactions, including social media, whether it translates into votes is the big question.
Gandhi’s earlier yatras—Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra—helped revive Congress’s image, and analysts attribute part of its assembly successes in Karnataka and Telangana to these mobilisations. However, electoral gains were not visible in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The BJP has dismissed the yatra as a “circus meant more for spectacle than policy impact”
Change in Bihar politics
While bringing together opposition on one common platform, it also brought together adversaries.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Tejashwi Yadav was spotted with Lok Sabha MP from Purnia Pappu Yadav alias Rajesh Ranjan in one frame. Pappu Yadav also described Tejashwi Yadav as ‘Jananayak’.
The optics of two political adversaries embracing and interacting cordially on the campaign stage are being watched closely by the ruling BJP-JD(U) led alliance.
Will it help INDIA Bloc?
Gandhi’s earlier yatras—Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra—helped revive Congress’s image, and analysts attribute part of its assembly successes in Karnataka and Telangana to these mobilisations. However, electoral gains were not visible in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh.
The yatra is strategically aimed at improving the party’s and the coalition’s strike rate, therefore it is not just a mass messaging. If it galvanises voters—especially around exclusion fears—it could boost turnout and sentiment in favour of the INDIA bloc. But raising awareness is one thing, winning elections in close, polarised contexts is another, analysts say, that depends on how effectively the campaign translates awareness into voter turnout
