Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will join her brother, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, in the ongoing Voters’ Adhikar Yatra in Bihar on August 26 and 27, lending significant momentum to the opposition’s campaign against alleged “vote theft” by the Election Commission through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Priyanka, representing Wayanad in the Lok Sabha, will participate as the yatra reaches Supaul and Madhubani in North Bihar, areas critical to the opposition’s strategy ahead of the state’s October-November 2025 assembly elections.

The 1,300-km yatra, launched on August 17 in Sasaram, has drawn massive crowds and prominent INDIA bloc leaders, including RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and CPI(ML) Liberation’s Dipankar Bhattacharya. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin is slated to join on August 27, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on August 29, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on August 30, signaling a unified opposition front against what they call a deliberate attempt to disenfranchise voters, particularly from marginalized communities.

Speaking at a press meet in Araria on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi highlighted a unique trend observed during the yatra: “Even children in Bihar are politically conscious, raising slogans like ‘Vote chor, gaddi chhodd’ (vote thieves, quit the throne).” He claimed the SIR process, which has reportedly removed over 6.5 million names from voter rolls, disproportionately targets Congress and RJD supporters, undermining the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.”

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The yatra’s success has revitalized the Congress in Bihar, a state where the party has struggled for decades, winning only 19 of 70 seats in the 2020 assembly polls. This resurgence is shifting alliance dynamics, with Congress now poised to demand more than the 50 seats initially offered by RJD for the upcoming elections. Tejashwi Yadav, the RJD’s undeclared CM candidate, had previously expressed frustration with Congress’ past performance, but the yatra’s momentum may strengthen Congress’ bargaining power.

However, veteran journalist Giridhar Jha cautioned that the “vote theft” narrative may lose traction once the SIR exercise concludes in September. “Rahul should also address migration, the poor education system, and massive corruption in Bihar to sustain the campaign’s impact,” Jha advised. Social media posts on X echoed the yatra’s growing influence, with users lauding Priyanka’s involvement as a game-changer, though some questioned whether the opposition’s focus on vote theft overshadows broader socio-economic issues.

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