Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hosted a surreal tea session with seven Bihar voters, declared “dead” by the Election Commission (EC), at his residence on Wednesday, spotlighting a major flaw in the electoral process. In a biting social media post, Gandhi thanked the EC for the “unique experience” of meeting these voters, whose names were removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Sharing a video of the meeting, Gandhi humorously suggested the group explore Delhi, joking that “dead” voters travel ticket-free. The voters, hailing from Raghopur—Tejashwi Yadav’s constituency—included Ramikbal Ray, Harendra Ray, Lalmuni Devi, Vachiya Devi, Lalwati Devi, Punam Kumari, and Munna Kumar. They discovered their “deceased” status during the SIR, which struck off 65 lakh voters from Bihar’s rolls ahead of polls.

The group informed Gandhi they had approached the Supreme Court on Wednesday to restore their voting rights, as the apex court hears petitions challenging the SIR’s deletions. The Congress alleged these seven represent just a fraction of voters unjustly removed in a few polling booths, accusing the EC of opaque practices. “The EC hasn’t publicly shared lists of those declared dead or migrated,” the party stated, noting that its teams accessed internal EC reports informally to identify these voters.

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Labeling the deletions as “political disenfranchisement,” the Congress claimed the SIR exercise mirrors the “Vote Chori” scandal in Bengaluru, where voter list irregularities were exposed. “When the living are struck off as dead, democracy itself receives a death certificate,” the party said, criticizing the EC’s process as compromised.

The incident has sparked outrage, with Gandhi’s meeting highlighting the urgent need for transparency and accuracy in voter list revisions to safeguard democratic rights in Bihar.

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