“Soil heavy with every stolen vote”: M K Stalin joins Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav in Bihar Yatra

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin joined Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, on Wednesday during the Voter Adhikar Yatra. The 16-day, 1,300-km march was launched on August 17 from Sasaram and will pass through 20 districts before concluding in Patna on September 1. The yatra is being held in protest against the deletion of names from Bihar’s electoral rolls during the Election Commission’s special intensive revision exercise.

Stalin accused the Election Commission of acting as a “puppet” of the Bharatiya Janata Party and alleged that the deletion of more than 65 lakh names from the voter list was “worse than terrorism.” He said, “BJP made elections a mockery, people will remove it from power as it has stolen votes.” He added that while Rahul Gandhi raised questions over the functioning of the Election Commission, instead of responding, the poll body asked him to submit an affidavit.

Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya also participated in the yatra on Wednesday. Earlier in the day, Gandhi and Tejashwi rode motorcycles through Muzaffarpur as part of the campaign, with Priyanka Gandhi riding pillion. Stalin and DMK MP Kanimozhi, who arrived in Muzaffarpur earlier, were welcomed by RJD supremo and former Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Speaking at a rally, Stalin recalled the long-standing association between the DMK and RJD, noting that his father and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi had been close to Lalu Prasad Yadav. He described Lalu as “one of the most prominent leaders in the country” and said that Tejashwi Yadav was following in his father’s footsteps. He added that Lalu “never bowed before the BJP” and praised Tejashwi for taking forward his legacy.

The Congress and RJD have alleged that the removal of voters’ names was done to benefit the BJP ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar. Both the Election Commission and the BJP have rejected the allegations. The Voter Adhikar Yatra is being projected by opposition parties as a campaign to restore voting rights to those whose names have been struck off the rolls.