‘Maharashtra Model’ being repeated in Bihar to steal elections: LoP Gandhi

Patna: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the Centre and the Election Commission of India, alleging that the Maharashtra model of “stealing elections” is now being implemented in Bihar.

“We have come to Bihar, where people have sacrificed their lives for the Constitution. It is written in our Constitution 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, similarly, an attempt is being made to steal the Bihar elections,” LoP Gandhi said while addressing a large gathering during the ‘Chakka Jam’ protest in Patna against the voter list revision.

LoP Gandhi said that the BJP and the Election Commission have understood that the Opposition has seen through the Maharashtra model.

“They have come to know that we have understood the Maharashtra model, so now they have come up with the Bihar model,” the Congress MP said, adding that “this is a way to snatch the votes of the poor, but they do not know that this is Bihar and the people of Bihar will never let this happen.”

Recalling the recent Maharashtra Assembly elections, LoP Gandhi claimed that while the INDIA Bloc won the Lok Sabha elections in the state, they lost the Assembly elections held shortly after, and data analysis revealed serious discrepancies.

“The INDIA alliance won the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, and a few months later, we lost the Assembly elections. We did not say much about this, but when we started looking at the data, we found that one crore new voters joined between the Lok Sabha and the Assembly elections. That means 10 per cent more voters voted in the Assembly,” LoP Gandhi said.

He alleged that the increased voters were concentrated in BJP-favoured areas, with thousands registered at one address, while the votes of the poor were removed.

“When we asked the Election Commission to give us the voter list and videography, the Election 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.

LoP Gandhi’s remarks come amid the Bihar Bandh called by the Congress, RJD, and Left parties, protesting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list before the Assembly elections due in three months.

The Opposition alleges the SIR process could disenfranchise crores of poor and migrant voters, while the ruling NDA has dismissed these concerns as political propaganda.

IANS