Rahul Gandhi accuses Centre, EC of ‘stealing elections,’ says Maharashtra model now being used in Bihar.
Patna, July 9, 2025: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government and the Election Commission, alleging that just as the Maharashtra elections were “stolen,” a similar attempt is underway in Bihar.
“We have come to Bihar, where people have sacrificed their lives for the Constitution. It is written that every citizen has the right to vote. I want to tell the people of India and Bihar that just like the Maharashtra elections were stolen, an attempt is being made to steal the Bihar elections,” Gandhi said while addressing a large gathering during the ‘Chakka Jam’ protest in Patna against the voter list revision.
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the opposition has exposed the “Maharashtra model,” and now the BJP is trying a “Bihar model” to manipulate elections.
“They have come to know that we have understood the Maharashtra model, so now they have come with the Bihar model,” he said.
Calling the voter list revision an attempt to snatch the voting rights of the poor, Gandhi said: “They do not know that this is Bihar, and the people of Bihar will never let this happen.”
He alleged that in Maharashtra and Haryana, the INDIA alliance had won the Lok Sabha elections, but lost the assembly elections held a few months later under suspicious circumstances.
“We did not say much initially, but when we analysed the data, we found that one crore new voters were added between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections, indicating a 10% increase in voters,” Gandhi said.
He claimed that in areas where the voter count surged, votes went to the BJP, and alleged manipulation in voter registration.
“4,000—5,000 voters were registered in one building while the votes of the poor were removed,” Gandhi claimed.
EC did not respond to data requests: Rahul Gandhi:
Rahul Gandhi also accused the Election Commission of ignoring requests for transparency.
“When we asked the Election Commission to give us the voter list and videography, the Commission did not say a word. We have not received the voter list of Maharashtra to date, and the law of videography was changed,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks come amid the Bihar Bandh called by the Congress, RJD, and Left parties protesting the Special Intensive Voter List Revision (SIR) before the Bihar assembly elections due later this year.
The opposition alleges the process could disenfranchise poor and migrant voters, while the NDA government dismisses these claims as political rhetoric.
EOM.