Sasaram Turns into a Sea of Tricolour as Rahul Gandhi Launches 1,300-km ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’

Aug 2025 : Sasaram witnessed a historic spectacle on Sunday as a mammoth crowd gathered to welcome Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, who flagged off the 16-day, 1,300-km-long ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ across Bihar. The rally site was transformed into a sea of Tricolour, with thousands of enthusiastic supporters lining the streets to mark the beginning of the campaign.

The launch saw the presence of several senior INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, underscoring the Opposition’s united front ahead of the state polls.

Addressing the massive gathering, Kharge appealed to the people of Bihar to safeguard democracy from what he described as “systematic vote theft” allegedly carried out by the BJP. “This yatra is not merely about winning an election; it is about saving the Constitution, democracy, and the people’s right to vote,” he said. Kharge further accused the Election Commission of arbitrarily deleting nearly 65 lakh voters from electoral rolls, primarily targeting Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, and other backward communities.

Rahul Gandhi, in his address, launched a scathing attack on the BJP and the RSS, alleging that the ruling party was attempting to “wipe out the Constitution” through electoral manipulation. “Elections are being stolen in Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha constituencies across the country,” he claimed, citing Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision of voter lists as part of a larger “conspiracy to disenfranchise millions ahead of the state polls.”

Gandhi also drew parallels with Maharashtra, where he said the INDIA bloc had performed strongly in the Lok Sabha elections but lost ground in Assembly polls due to the “sudden addition of one crore new voters, all in favour of the BJP.” He referred to the Mahadevapura Assembly segment in Bengaluru Central, where Congress alleged that more than one lakh fake votes influenced the outcome in the BJP’s favour.

Reaffirming his party’s commitment to social justice, Gandhi reiterated that the Congress would conduct a nationwide caste census and push to remove the 50 per cent cap on reservations. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making hollow promises on the issue, warning that the government lacked sincerity in addressing the demand.

The event was attended by several INDIA bloc leaders, including K.C. Venugopal, Bhupesh Baghel, Krishna Allavaru, Rajesh Ram, Shakeel Ahmad, Dipankar Bhattacharya, and Akhilesh Pratap Singh, adding weight to what the Opposition described as a “battle to defend democracy.”