NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday joined RJD's Tejashwi Yadav for "chakka jam" in Bihar over Election Commission's special intensive revision of electoral roll just months ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
Rahul and Tejashwi, along with CPI's D Raja and CPM's Deepankar Bhattacharya led the Grand Alliance march to the chief electoral officer's office. Rahul and other leaders were atop a vehicle during the protest march which started at Income Tax Golambar in Patna.
Here are the top developments
'Kranti against Godi Aayog'
While addressing the gathering, Tejashwi issued a call for "kranti" (revolution) against BJP and Nitish Kumar's "Godi Aayog."
"We won't allow Dadagiri of BJP and Nitish Kumar's 'Godi Aayog'. Bihar is the mother of democracy, and they want to finish democracy here. People of Bihar won't let this happen. There will be 'kranti'," Tejashwi said.
'Maharashtra elections were rigged, they are trying to do the same'
Addressing the gathering, Rahul claimed that a similar attempt is being made in Bihar, what the poll body did in Maharashtra.
Lok Sabha elections happened, then elections happened in Maharashtra and Haryana. In the Lok Sabha elections, INDIA bloc had majority in Maharashtra, after few months in Assembly election, INDIA bloc lost badly, we did not say anything then, but we started seeing the data, we knew that 1 crore new voters were added meanwhile. The constituencies where voters were added, BJP won," the Congress leader said.
"When we asked for the voter list from the ECI, they got silent. We did not get it till now. I want to tell people of Bihar that the Maharashtra elections were rigged, they are trying to do the same. But they don't know this is Bihar, people won't let it happen," he added.
'What is their problem?'
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party upped its ante against INDIA bloc for calling "Bihar Bandh" and accused it of resorting to hooliganism under the guise of the "chakka jam."
"INDIA bloc in Bihar has no real issues. They have no valid criticism against the NDA government or Nitish Kumarโs administration. Both the country and Bihar are progressing well. Since they lack a proper agenda, the Election Commission is their soft target. The public does not support them, as they are resorting to hooliganism under the guise of Bihar Bandh," BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said.
BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad backed the poll body's exercise and said only "citizens of India" are entitled to vote in the elections.
"Today, the opposition parties have called a Bihar Bandh against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Bihar LoP and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of the INDIA bloc have come down to the streets I want to bring to the attention of the country towards some important issues," Patna Sahib MP Ravishankar Prasad said.
"In our country, citizens of India vote to form MPs and MLAs. Also, they cast their votes from where they live. So what is their problem if a revision of voter lists is done?" he added.
Poll panel quotes Constitution on voting rights
Amid the ongoing protests, Election Commission, on a social media post on X, shared Article 326 of the Constitution which deals elections to the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and to the Legislative Assemblies of States based on adult suffrage.
"Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be on the basis of adult suffrage. โ The elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age on such date as may be fixed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election," the Article reads.
Highways blocked, trains halted, tyres burnt
RJD and grand alliance supporters disrupted road and railway traffic across Bihar.
RJD workers blocked rail and road traffic in several parts of Patna as well as in other parts of the state, including Araria, Purnea, Katihar and Muzaffarpur.
Workers from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation and CPM burnt tyres and blocked roads in support of the Bihar Bandh in Arwal, Jehanabad and Darbhanga as well.
Independent Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav also reached Sachiwalay Halt railway station and tried to disrupt the movement of railway traffic.
"The Election Commission, through its special intensive revision of electoral rolls, is snatching voting rights from migrants, Dalits, Mahadalits, and poor voters. It's a conspiracy to block votes ahead of the Bihar assembly polls due later this year," he said.
The Election Commission has stated that the ongoing exercise is a standard procedure to update the voter list before every election, as mandated by law. Additionally, the poll body has launched a drive to weed out foreign illegal migrants from the electoral rolls in six states, starting with Bihar.
The Commission reminded all stakeholders of the constitutional provision that only Indian citizens are eligible to vote.
"The Constitution of India is supreme. All citizens, political parties, and the Election Commission of India follow the Constitution," the EC said in a statement.
The poll panel said it currently has nearly 78,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) and is in the process of appointing over 20,000 more to manage new polling stations.
More than one lakh volunteers will assist genuine electors, particularly the elderly, the sick, persons with disabilities, the poor, and other vulnerable groups during the special intensive revision.
Out of the existing 7,89,69,844 electors, 4.96 crore electors, whose names were already included in the last intensive revision of the electoral roll on January 1, 2023, are only required to verify their details, fill the Enumeration Form, and submit it.
The Enumeration Form should be filled between June 25 and July 26, after which the draft voter list will be published on August 1, 2025. The period for filing claims and objections will be from August 1 to September 1, and the final voter list will be published on September 30.
Rahul and Tejashwi, along with CPI's D Raja and CPM's Deepankar Bhattacharya led the Grand Alliance march to the chief electoral officer's office. Rahul and other leaders were atop a vehicle during the protest march which started at Income Tax Golambar in Patna.
Here are the top developments
'Kranti against Godi Aayog'
While addressing the gathering, Tejashwi issued a call for "kranti" (revolution) against BJP and Nitish Kumar's "Godi Aayog."
"We won't allow Dadagiri of BJP and Nitish Kumar's 'Godi Aayog'. Bihar is the mother of democracy, and they want to finish democracy here. People of Bihar won't let this happen. There will be 'kranti'," Tejashwi said.
'Maharashtra elections were rigged, they are trying to do the same'
Addressing the gathering, Rahul claimed that a similar attempt is being made in Bihar, what the poll body did in Maharashtra.
Lok Sabha elections happened, then elections happened in Maharashtra and Haryana. In the Lok Sabha elections, INDIA bloc had majority in Maharashtra, after few months in Assembly election, INDIA bloc lost badly, we did not say anything then, but we started seeing the data, we knew that 1 crore new voters were added meanwhile. The constituencies where voters were added, BJP won," the Congress leader said.
"When we asked for the voter list from the ECI, they got silent. We did not get it till now. I want to tell people of Bihar that the Maharashtra elections were rigged, they are trying to do the same. But they don't know this is Bihar, people won't let it happen," he added.
'What is their problem?'
Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party upped its ante against INDIA bloc for calling "Bihar Bandh" and accused it of resorting to hooliganism under the guise of the "chakka jam."
"INDIA bloc in Bihar has no real issues. They have no valid criticism against the NDA government or Nitish Kumarโs administration. Both the country and Bihar are progressing well. Since they lack a proper agenda, the Election Commission is their soft target. The public does not support them, as they are resorting to hooliganism under the guise of Bihar Bandh," BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said.
BJP leader Ravishankar Prasad backed the poll body's exercise and said only "citizens of India" are entitled to vote in the elections.
"Today, the opposition parties have called a Bihar Bandh against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Bihar LoP and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of the INDIA bloc have come down to the streets I want to bring to the attention of the country towards some important issues," Patna Sahib MP Ravishankar Prasad said.
"In our country, citizens of India vote to form MPs and MLAs. Also, they cast their votes from where they live. So what is their problem if a revision of voter lists is done?" he added.
Poll panel quotes Constitution on voting rights
Amid the ongoing protests, Election Commission, on a social media post on X, shared Article 326 of the Constitution which deals elections to the House of the People (Lok Sabha) and to the Legislative Assemblies of States based on adult suffrage.
๐๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐๐ถ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ #๐๐ถ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ #๐ฆ๐๐ฅ #๐๐๐ pic.twitter.com/o0TCgDCYg9
— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) July 9, 2025
"Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be on the basis of adult suffrage. โ The elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assembly of every State shall be on the basis of adult suffrage; that is to say, every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than eighteen years of age on such date as may be fixed in that behalf by or under any law made by the appropriate Legislature and is not otherwise disqualified under this Constitution or any law made by the appropriate Legislature on the ground of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter at any such election," the Article reads.
Highways blocked, trains halted, tyres burnt
RJD and grand alliance supporters disrupted road and railway traffic across Bihar.
RJD workers blocked rail and road traffic in several parts of Patna as well as in other parts of the state, including Araria, Purnea, Katihar and Muzaffarpur.
Workers from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation and CPM burnt tyres and blocked roads in support of the Bihar Bandh in Arwal, Jehanabad and Darbhanga as well.
Independent Lok Sabha MP Pappu Yadav also reached Sachiwalay Halt railway station and tried to disrupt the movement of railway traffic.
"The Election Commission, through its special intensive revision of electoral rolls, is snatching voting rights from migrants, Dalits, Mahadalits, and poor voters. It's a conspiracy to block votes ahead of the Bihar assembly polls due later this year," he said.
The Election Commission has stated that the ongoing exercise is a standard procedure to update the voter list before every election, as mandated by law. Additionally, the poll body has launched a drive to weed out foreign illegal migrants from the electoral rolls in six states, starting with Bihar.
The Commission reminded all stakeholders of the constitutional provision that only Indian citizens are eligible to vote.
"The Constitution of India is supreme. All citizens, political parties, and the Election Commission of India follow the Constitution," the EC said in a statement.
The poll panel said it currently has nearly 78,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) and is in the process of appointing over 20,000 more to manage new polling stations.
More than one lakh volunteers will assist genuine electors, particularly the elderly, the sick, persons with disabilities, the poor, and other vulnerable groups during the special intensive revision.
Out of the existing 7,89,69,844 electors, 4.96 crore electors, whose names were already included in the last intensive revision of the electoral roll on January 1, 2023, are only required to verify their details, fill the Enumeration Form, and submit it.
The Enumeration Form should be filled between June 25 and July 26, after which the draft voter list will be published on August 1, 2025. The period for filing claims and objections will be from August 1 to September 1, and the final voter list will be published on September 30.
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