Gandhi says the campaign is not just an election issue but a decisive battle to defend democracy, the Constitution, and the principle of one person, one vote.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi — Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday announced that he will launch a nationwide campaign against alleged voter list manipulation, beginning with the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ from Bihar on August 17.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Gandhi described the initiative as “a direct fight against vote theft,” framing it as a decisive battle to protect democracy, the Constitution, and the principle of one person, one vote.
“From August 17, with the Voter Adhikar Yatra, we are starting a direct fight against vote theft from the soil of Bihar. This is not just an electoral issue — it is a decisive battle to protect democracy, the Constitution, and the principle of one man, one vote. We will ensure clean electoral rolls across the country. Youth, workers, farmers — every citizen, rise and join this people’s movement. This time, the vote thieves will lose — and the people and the Constitution will win,” Gandhi wrote in Hindi.
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The Congress MP from Wayanad said the Yatra will aim to mobilise citizens to demand clean and accurate voter lists, accusing the ruling BJP of benefiting from large-scale irregularities in electoral rolls. He called on young people, labourers, and farmers to join what he described as a “people’s movement” to safeguard voting rights.
17 अगस्त से #VoterAdhikarYatra के साथ हम बिहार की धरती से वोट चोरी के ख़िलाफ़ सीधी लड़ाई छेड़ रहे हैं।
यह सिर्फ़ एक चुनावी मुद्दा नहीं – यह लोकतंत्र, संविधान और ‘वन मैन, वन वोट’ के सिद्धांत की रक्षा का निर्णायक संग्राम है।
हम पूरे देश में स्वच्छ मतदाता सूची बनवाकर ही रहेंगे।… pic.twitter.com/OQl0BQ3ns9
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 14, 2025
The announcement comes in the wake of Gandhi’s repeated allegations that the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) have allowed — or enabled — systematic vote manipulation in multiple states, including Karnataka and Delhi. The Congress has claimed to have documented instances of fake voter entries, voter suppression, and deletion of genuine voters from electoral rolls.
While the ECI has consistently denied such charges, maintaining that the voter registration process is transparent and secure, Gandhi and other opposition leaders have intensified their campaign ahead of key state elections and the 2029 general elections.
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Bihar, where the Yatra will be launched, has been strategically chosen, party insiders say, both for its political symbolism and its history of high-stakes electoral contests. The state also has a legacy of voter rights movements, dating back to the JP movement of the 1970s.
The Congress plans to take the campaign to other states in the coming months, with rallies, street meetings, and voter verification drives aimed at pressuring the ECI to undertake what Gandhi calls a “full clean-up” of electoral rolls.
Political analysts see the ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ as part of Gandhi’s broader effort to position himself as a defender of democratic institutions and to galvanise grassroots support against the BJP’s dominance. However, the BJP has dismissed the allegations as baseless and politically motivated, accusing Gandhi of trying to undermine public trust in the electoral process.
With the August 17 launch date fast approaching, party workers in Bihar are already preparing for large public gatherings, door-to-door campaigns, and social media outreach to amplify the message.
