Bihar Polls: Congress Accuses BJP, ECI of 'Vote Theft' in Haryana

Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Rahul Gandhi have accused the BJP and the Election Commission of manipulating voter lists in Bihar. They alleged 'vote theft' and fraud in Haryana and claimed similar tactics are being used in the Bihar polls.

Congress leader Pawan Khera alleged that people who have been casting votes for generations have been deleted from the voters' list in the first phase of the Bihar polls held on November 6. He accused the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Election Commission of India (ECI) of having allegedly worked together to manipulate votes in Haryana. "We recieved complaints from our workers that the names of people who have been casting votes for generations, their names were deleted from the voter list. The entire nation saw that SIR was a flop show in Bihar...With the collusion of the Election Commission of India and the BJP, we were not able to form the government in Haryana, and they stole votes," he said.

Congress Alleges 'Vote Theft', Cites Haryana Example

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged "vote theft" in the Bihar elections, claiming that fake voters had been included in election lists and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the Election Commission of orchestrating voter fraud in Haryana elections. He said that Bihar's youth would not allow such manipulation this time. Addressing an election rally in Bhagalpur, Rahul Gandhi said, "There are 2 crore voters in Haryana and more than 25 lakh voters in the polling list were fake.... I guarantee you that PM Modi, HM Amit Shah, and the Election Commission have conspired to steal the Haryana election together. We said it with evidence that they committed theft in the Lok Sabha, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and now they are trying to win Bihar's election by stealing...We do not get the voter list till the last moment... The Gen Z of Bihar will not let vote theft happen here..."

Bihar Election Schedule

On November 6, voting was held for 121 seats spread across 18 districts, with a voter turnout of 64.5 per cent. The second phase of assembly polls is set to be held on November 11, with counting of votes to be held on November 14. In the second phase, 122 seats in 20 districts will go to the polls, and subsequently, polling for the Bihar elections will conclude. Districts including Aurangabad, Jahanabad, Gaya, Nawada, Jamui, Bhagalpur, Purnia and others will be included in the second phase. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)