The Voter Adhikar Yatra itself, a 1,300-km trek across more than 20 districts, has been billed by the Congress as a do-or-die push against what it calls “vote chori” or election fraud. Gandhi has earlier alleged that PM Modi became prime minister only on the basis of 25-30 seats won fraudulently across the country, and he himself won his seat in Varanasi through questionable means.

Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D.K. Shivakumar are slated to join Gandhi on different legs of the journey, with the yatra concluding in Patna on 1 September.

“Rahul Gandhi ji is taking out a 16-day-long yatra in Bihar covering about 1,300 km. I will also join him on 29 August and wish him the best,” Siddaramaiah told reporters, while Shivakumar announced: “Rahul Gandhi is doing a yatra in Bihar. I will be going for one day, and the chief minister will go on another day. Some of our MLAs are also joining.”

If Gandhi’s “vote chor” jibe was designed to sting, the Supreme Court delivered its own form of rebuke earlier in the day when it directed the Election Commission to allow excluded voters to file claims online using Aadhaar or any of the other 11 valid ID documents, after being told that nearly 65 lakh names had been scrubbed from the draft rolls.

It also expressed surprise — tinged with disbelief — that of the 1.6 lakh booth-level agents appointed by political parties, only two had filed objections. All 12 recognised political parties have now been ordered to join the case and file reports by 8 September.