MADHUBANI/PATNA, Aug. 27 -- Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday mounted his offensive against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during a public meeting in Phulparas, Madhubani district, accusing it of orchestrating "systematic vote theft" to manipulate elections and undermine democracy. The Congress leader cited Union home minister Amit Shah's past claim that the BJP would rule for 40-50 years as evidence of premeditated fraud. "How could he know? Because they steal votes," Gandhi argued, alleging the practice originated in Gujarat and expanded nationally since 2014. He claimed the BJP selectively adds and removes voters, particularly targeting marginalised groups, to sway outcomes in states like Maharashtra and Haryana. The public address was part of the tenth day campaign of the 1,300-km yatra, protesting alleged voter suppression ahead of Bihar's assembly polls. Gandhi was joined by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy, CPI(ML) Liberation's Dipankar Bhattacharya and other INDIA bloc figures. Gandhi further alleged the BJP in connivance with the Election Commission of India (ECI) manipulated votes in Maharashtra, where the Opposition won the Lok Sabha elections but lost the subsequent assembly polls. "Nearly one crore new voters were added to the electoral rolls post-Lok Sabha results. Wherever these voters were added, the BJP won," he claimed, accusing the ECI of refusing to share voter lists or booth videography. He pointed to Bengaluru Central's Mahadevapura segment, where Congress uncovered one lakh fake voters, including repeated names and non-existent addresses. He claimed that the 2023 law shields election commissioners from judicial scrutiny, enabling unchecked manipulation. "They steal votes to undermine the Constitution, which gives power to the poor, Dalits, and backward communities," he declared, waving a copy of the document. He vowed to safeguard voters' rights through a caste census and increased representation for the marginalised, thanking Bihar for igniting a nationwide anti-fraud movement that could reshape India's politics. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, making her yatra debut in Supaul, amplified the message on X: "The BJP, which has lost the trust of the people, is hatching conspiracies to steal votes across the country. In Bihar, the BJP-JDU government, which has failed on every front - price rise, unemployment, migration, and economic crisis - wants to remain in power by stealing the votes of the people. Lakhs of poor and deprived citizens are being robbed of their voting rights." She vowed, "We will not let a single vote be stolen," positioning the campaign as a national effort to defend electoral integrity. AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, at a joint press conference with RJD's Manoj Jha in Phulparas, echoed these charges, linking vote theft to broader governance failures. In Bihar, Surjewala claimed, 65 lakh voters - mostly Dalits, OBCs, and minorities - have been targeted via the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He cited irregularities in constituencies like Pipra, Bagaha, and Motihari, where 3,590 locations listed over 80,000 suspicious voters. Examples included 459 voters registered at one house in Pipra's Galimpur (Booth 320) and over 1,000 duplicates in Valmiki Nagar matching Uttar Pradesh records, with identical names, ages, and family details. Claiming that the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government is neck dipped in corruption, Surjewala said a CAG report flagged Rs.70,877.61 crore misappropriation of the government exchequer in welfare schemes without records. "Bihar's 2023 socio-economic survey revealed 94.42 lakh families (five crore people) surviving on Rs.40 daily, and 81.91 lakh (four crore) on Rs.67, fuelling migration and unemployment. Youth suffer from repeated exam paper leaks between 2017 and 2024, while healthcare faces 35-69% doctor shortages, 86% in specialists, and 61-93% bed deficits. Crime statistics from NCRB (2006-2022) show 953 daily incidents, including eight murders and 28 abductions of women. Jha mocked the ECI's "predictive" 20% voter list cuts, questioning if the Chief Election Commissioner had become an "astrologer." He framed the yatra as a battle for systemic change beyond elections, addressing Bihar's entrenched poverty and joblessness. Senior Congress leader from Madhubani, Kishore Kumar Jha, praised the overwhelming support for Rahul Gandhi's Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, stating, "The campaign has received unprecedented backing from the public in Sasaram, Aurangabad, Munger, and Bhagalpur, with lakhs attending and pledging support. Crowds of youth, farmers, laborers, students, and women are raising issues like vote theft, unemployment, and economic distress. After a long time, we see renewed energy for Congress among workers and people, with support cutting across caste lines." Jha claimed the yatra has transformed Bihar's political landscape, strengthening the INDIA bloc and revitalizing Congress's grassroots organization ahead of the Assembly elections. The Supaul leg started in the morning from Hussain Chowk, covering a 4-km route through key areas to Degree College Chowk, with leaders atop an open SUV amid chanting crowds shouting "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod."...