Grand Alliance Leads “Bihar Bandh” Protest Over Electoral Roll Revision; BJP Defends EC Move

Grand Alliance Leads “Bihar Bandh” Protest Over Electoral Roll Revision; BJP Defends EC Move

Rahul Gandhi echoed concerns of electoral manipulation, drawing parallels to the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

RMN News Political Desk
July 9, 2025

Patna, India – The Grand Alliance (Mahagathbandhan) in Bihar, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, organized a widespread “chakka jam” (roadblock) protest across the state on Wednesday (July 9), expressing strong opposition to the Election Commission’s (EC) ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The protest comes just months ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar, sparking a heated war of words with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The protest march, which began at Income Tax Golambar in Patna, saw prominent leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, CPI’s D Raja, and CPM’s Deepankar Bhattacharya atop a vehicle, leading supporters to the chief electoral officer’s office. Grand Alliance supporters extensively disrupted road and railway traffic, blocking routes and halting trains in various parts of Bihar, including Patna, Araria, Purnea, Katihar, Muzaffarpur, Arwal, Jehanabad, and Darbhanga, with many resorting to burning tyres.

Allegations of Rigging and “Mockery of Democracy”

Addressing the gathering, Tejashwi Yadav issued a call for “kranti” (revolution) against what he termed BJP and Nitish Kumar’s “Godi Aayog,” accusing them of attempting to “finish democracy” in Bihar. “We won’t allow Dadagiri of BJP and Nitish Kumar’s ‘Godi Aayog’. Bihar is the mother of democracy, and they want to finish democracy here,” he stated.

Rahul Gandhi echoed concerns of electoral manipulation, drawing parallels to the Maharashtra Assembly elections. He claimed that after the Lok Sabha elections, where the INDIA bloc had a majority in Maharashtra, the subsequent Assembly election saw the INDIA bloc lose significantly, largely due to the alleged addition of one crore new voters. “The constituencies where voters were added, BJP won,” Gandhi asserted, further claiming that the Election Commission remained silent when asked for the voter list. He warned that a similar attempt to rig elections is being made in Bihar.

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Independent Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav supported the protest, asserting that the EC’s revision exercise is a “conspiracy to block votes ahead of the Bihar assembly polls”. He specifically alleged that this move is “snatching voting rights from migrants, Dalits, Mahadalits, and poor voters”.

BJP Defends EC, Accuses Opposition of “Hooliganism”

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly condemned the “Bihar Bandh,” accusing the INDIA bloc of resorting to “hooliganism” and lacking “real issues”. BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain stated that since the country and Bihar are progressing well, and the opposition lacks a proper agenda, the Election Commission has become their “soft target”.

Patna Sahib MP Ravishankar Prasad backed the Election Commission’s exercise, emphasizing that only “citizens of India” are entitled to vote. He questioned the opposition’s motives, asking if they desire the “inclusion of infiltrators and others in the voter list,” specifically mentioning Rohingyas.

Prasad suggested that the opposition seeks to “play their politics based on such illicit voters,” calling their approach into question and asking if the protest was an attempt to create “pressure”. He also highlighted that Bihar has 7.9 crore voters, and 4 crore have already submitted enumeration forms, clarifying that those with names on the voter list as of 2003 do not need to resubmit documents.

Election Commission Cites Constitutional Mandate

Amidst the protests, the Election Commission (EC) maintained that the ongoing exercise is a “standard procedure to update the voter list before every election, as mandated by law”. The poll body has also launched a drive to “weed out foreign illegal migrants from the electoral rolls” in six states, starting with Bihar.

The EC, through a social media post on X, reiterated Article 326 of the Constitution, which stipulates that elections are based on adult suffrage, meaning every Indian citizen aged 18 or above who is not otherwise disqualified, is entitled to be registered as a voter. “The Constitution of India is supreme. All citizens, political parties, and the Election Commission of India follow the Constitution,” the EC stated.

The Election Commission further detailed the revision process:

• It currently has nearly 78,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) and is appointing over 20,000 more.
• More than one lakh volunteers will assist genuine electors, especially vulnerable groups.
• Of the existing 7,89,69,844 electors, 4.96 crore whose names were on the January 1, 2023 list only need to verify their details and submit an Enumeration Form.
• The period for filling the Enumeration Form is from June 25 to July 26.
• The draft voter list will be published on August 1, 2025.
• Claims and objections can be filed from August 1 to September 1.
• The final voter list will be published on September 30.