If crowds indeed are an indication, a deep churning is happening. Will it translate into votes? No one knows.
However, it is time that in a Hindi heartland largely in the grip of retrograde Hindutva, Bihar shows the revolutionary way, as in the past.
The 16-day long Vote Adhikaar Yatra, led by Rahul Gandhi (RG), with Tejashwi Yadav along, has attracted tens of thousands of supporters. This is just about the first phase, and the huge crowd in Gaya, Nawada and other towns could be an indicator of a manthan, beyond the entrenched caste equations.
With Nitish Kumar’s credibility having sunk to abysmal levels, and unconfirmed reports that he is ailing, his erstwhile base among the EBC and Pasmanda Muslims might be on shaky ground. And with the BJP top brass now in the rat-trap of ‘vote chori’, and after having failed in all fronts, it is not going to be easy for this opportunistic alliance.
RJD remains the largest party in the Bihar assembly. It’s ‘Muslim-Yadav (MY)’ base remains intact – though it has to expand, especially among the EBC, Dalits and minorities. They have to break the steadfast Nitish-vote bank, because the upper caste vote, feudal landlords etc, largely, will stay with the BJP.
The Congress has a limited base in the state, but the large rallies might boost the alliance. And with the ideologically committed CPI-ML (Liberation) as ally, with its solid constituency in the margins, a formidable coalition can, indeed, become an electoral reality.
RG, in his trademark white T-shirt, and the swirling, excited crowd of people waving Congress and RJD flags, reminds of the stupendous success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir. It catapulted the Congress leader into national limelight for months, which decisively broke the nightmarish atmosphere of State terror, the entrenched phobia in the civil society (ED raids, jailed young scholars, clampdown on dissent etc), amid organized media censorship.
The Yatra also created a refreshing discourse of ‘Mohabbat ki Dukaan’, amid an atmosphere of hate and fear. The positive message sent shivers down the spine of a dictatorial regime, which, apart from the politics of polarization, had seriously damaged the basic tenets and essence of Indian democracy.
The Red Book (not the ‘Mao Red Book’) of our Constitution became the weapon in the hands of RG. The values and vision of the freedom movement, its secular and progressive ideals, became the doctrine of this ‘Satyagraha on foot’.
Thousands across the country took time off from work and home to join this great experiment in solidarity, including women, youngsters, senior citizens, celebrities, and citizens from all hues of the vast Indian kaleidoscope. It was a glorious celebration of the inherent ethos of unity and diversity, embedded early in our childhood consciousness through school text books, as much as a defiance against the one-dimensional, shallow, fear-driven hate machine of Hindutva.
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Undoubtedly, ‘Vote Chori’, the propaganda blitz started by Rahul Gandhi, and with intentions as noble as they can get, has struck a deep chord with the people. The campaign started with irrefutable evidence, while the government seems to have turned speechless – as in Manipur, or Donald Trump claiming a ceasefire.
Or, the Pahalgam murders.
Indeed, the most uncomfortable questions have not been answered. As always.
How come there was not one cop, a security apparatus, and check points, in an extremely popular tourist hub in a highly fortified conflict zone, when the terrorists struck in Pahalgam with the cold-blooded killings of Indian men? And thereby comfortably escape? Jammu and Kashmir, after all, is now a Union Territory, directly under the government in Delhi.
Who were the terrorists and why have they not been caught till this day – and how did this major intelligence failure allowed to happen?
How many aircraft were lost by India, including the multi-million, state-of-the art, French fighter aircraft called Rafael, and why?
Why, not a word has been uttered on China, which was reportedly remote-controlling the Pakistani counter-attack, and successfully so?
Why did Mr M’s regime allow Donald Trump to hijack what has been for decades a bilateral issue? Did he or did he not, stop the war?
As for the muscle-flexing and fake news in the stooge media, with sirens blowing inside the studios, and Islamabad captured etc, it all became a magnificent box office flop.
Mr M’s emotional rhetoric on Operation Sindoor bombed in the face of the unanswered questions. (Talking of Pulwama – the difficult questions still remain — unresolved.)
Meanwhile, skeletons are toppling over all over the place, and many more might emerge. Data as evidence, voters whose names mysteriously disappeared, voters with bizarre names, one room address with hundreds of listed voters, houses with numbers such as 0, the same voters listed in several constituencies, one 128year-old woman voter, dead voters suddenly appearing as living human beings, the strange public conduct of the EC chairman, the uncanny silence of the last EC chairman, the Supreme Court’s judgment on 65 lakh voters (not a low number) – things are not at all hunky dory for what is being called the ‘B’ team of the BJP.
As CPM MP John Brittas said: “Gyanesh Kumar has spoken at least one fact and truth. He said that crores of people are on the streets, they don’t have houses. So, their house number is 0… Will he say there are crores of people who do not have parents, they are orphans, and that’s why their parents’ name is ABCDEFG? He has to explain that also.”
He said the EC should merge with the BJP. “Why should we need to pay so much of taxes to run such institutions that are a B team of the political party?”
Meanwhile, reports have emerged asking uncanny questions on the Maharashtra elections, again, first raised by Rahul Gandhi in a newspaper article. Before the assembly elections in the state, observers believed that after the surprising defeat of the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections here, the assembly polls will reflect a similar trend in certain constituencies. However, the BJP victory took them by surprise. Now the bitter reality seems to be sinking fast.
Media reports are quoting the findings by Vote for Democracy (VFD), a civic action group led by eminent experts. It has been released with analysis of each of the 288 constituencies in the Maharastra assembly. The findings are disturbing.
The report is titled Dysfunctional ECI and Weaponisation of India’s Election System, and is based on official data released by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Chief Electoral Officer (CEO). It also encapsulates discussions with voters, polling staff, etc.
VFD has distinguished experts: M.G. Devasahayam, IAS (retired), Coordinator of Citizens’ Commission on Elections, Pyara Lal Garg, former Dean, Panjab University, Madhav Deshpande, specialist in computer software and architecture, and Professor Harish Karnick, former Professor, Computer Science, IIT-Kanpur.
The report (released August 16, 2025) states that in the November 2024 elections, Maharashtra witnessed a late surge voter turnout. At 5 pm, voter turnout stood at 58.22%, but by midnight it had risen to 66.05. This is a huge rise of 7.83% — that is, as many as 48 lakh extra votes. Nanded, Solapur, Beed, Jalgaon, Hingoli and Dhule recorded double-digit spikes. It has been observed that over the years such late surges have been very rare.
Many seats were decided by extremely small margins. As many as 25 seats were won just about 3,000 votes or less, and 69 seats by fewer than 10,000 votes, says VFD. This is a pointer that small shifts can mark a decisive change in the final outcome. There are other findings that cast a shadow on the poll results.
Clearly, if alleged vote fraud has happened, this ‘EVM’ phenomenon has to be thoroughly investigated and exposed. A vote fraud means that those who have done it, and successfully so, they will do it again. That means, to retain illegitimate power, they can go to any extent.
Democracy, overnight, can turn into a dictatorship.
The intelligent voter in Bihar, as in other places, seems to have sensed this diabolical and dangerous reality. Hence, the huge upsurge in the RG rallies.
