Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders are launching a statewide ‘Vote Adhikar Yatra’ on 17 August in protest against the ‘special intensive revision’ (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of the 2025 assembly election. The aim is also to transform the campaign against “vote chori” into a mass movement, the Congress announced today, 13 August, Wednesday.
Congress general secretary overseeing organisation K.C. Venugopal shared the announcement on X, emphasising that the fight to defend democracy will be fought on the streets.
“Starting 17 August, LOP Shri Rahul Gandhi ji and the INDIA parties will embark on a large-scale Vote Adhikar Yatra throughout Bihar, protesting the hazardous SIR exercise and aiming to turn the fight against Vote Chori into a widespread movement,” Venugopal said stated.
Venugopal also mentioned that he had met with several of the other INDIA bloc leaders in Sasaram today to review preparations, coordinate efforts and ensure smooth mobilisation of party workers.
The yatra will culminate on 1 September in a rally at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.
On 12 August, Tuesday, the Congress claimed that “vote chori” is a “do-or-die” issue for the party and outlined a series of activities to communicate the facts it had uncovered to the masses, including via ‘Loktantra Bachao‘ mashaal marches scheduled for the evening of 14 August.
This decision followed a meeting yesterday, 12 August, of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge with party general secretaries, in-charges and leaders of its various organisations.
After the meeting, Congress leader and NSUI in-charge Kanhaiya Kumar told reporters that, going forward, the party plans to engage the public through three key initiatives.