New Delhi, August 13 (HS): In a bold political push amid mounting tensions over Bihar’s controversial voter list revision, the opposition’s INDIA alliance is set to hit the streets with a massive Vote Adhikar Yatra (Right to Vote March) beginning August 17. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will spearhead the march, rallying citizens against what the bloc calls a “dangerous and undemocratic” Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls and alleged large-scale voter fraud.

The campaign will be launched from Sasaram in Rohtas district, with leaders from across the INDIA bloc — including key Congress, RJD, and Left figures — marching shoulder to shoulder. Senior Congress leader and organisation general secretary K. C. Venugopal met alliance partners in Sasaram on Wednesday to review preparations, assess mobilisation efforts, and coordinate strategy for the statewide movement.

“This fight will now be waged on the streets,” Venugopal declared on social media, framing the march as a grassroots movement to safeguard democracy. Opposition leaders claim the SIR process enables systematic “vote theft” in favour of the ruling NDA, and the yatra is intended to build public pressure for electoral transparency and voter rights.

The journey will traverse roughly 25 districts, with outreach events designed to engage village communities, youth groups, and civil society activists. It will culminate on September 1 with a mega rally at Patna’s historic Gandhi Maidan — envisioned as a show of strength and unity for the opposition ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.

For the INDIA bloc, the Vote Adhikar Yatra is more than a protest — it’s a symbolic battle for the soul of Indian democracy.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar