As the BJP appears poised for a sweeping victory for NDA in Bihar, projected to secure well over a two-thirds majority in the high-stakes assembly election, the party has intensified its offensive against the Opposition, particularly Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, branding him a symbol of repeated electoral losses.
Rahul Gandhi, who undertook a 16-day Voter Adhikar Yatra across 20 districts ahead of the polls, had centred his campaign on allegations of “vote chori,” accusing the Election Commission of colluding with the BJP to engineer a favourable result. The Congress and the INDIA bloc had pitched the election as a crucial “battle to save the Constitution” from what they described as a “vote-thief” government. Gandhi was one of the Congress’s star campaigners in the state.
However, the rhetoric failed to translate into electoral gains, with both the Congress and the broader INDIA alliance heading for what is being seen as an embarrassing defeat.
Leading the BJP's charge, the party’s IT cell chief Amit Malviya declared, “Rahul Gandhi! Another election, another defeat! If there were awards for electoral consistency (of losing polls), he’d sweep them all. At this rate, even setbacks must be wondering how he finds them so reliably.”
A map circulating on social media, amplified by BJP leaders, lists 95 electoral losses attributed to the Congress, which the party claims happened under Rahul Gandhi over the past two decades.
Malviya posted the graphic, which he said catalogues Congress defeats between 2004 and 2025 in elections where, according to the BJP, Gandhi played a central campaign role. The list spans almost every major state: Himachal Pradesh (2007, 2017), Punjab (2007, 2012, 2022), Gujarat (2007, 2012, 2017, 2022), Madhya Pradesh (2008, 2013, 2018, 2023), and Maharashtra (2014, 2019, 2024). It also includes losses in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, the Northeast, southern states, Union Territories, and setbacks in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
BJP MP Sudhanshu invoked a couplet by poet Kabir Das to taunt the Congress. “I would like to quote Kabir Das for Congress: ‘Bura jo dekhan main chala, bura na milya koi. Jo mann khoja apna, to mujhse bura na koi’ (When I went looking for evil, I found none. But when I searched within my own heart, I found no one worse than me).”
As the NDA widened its lead, the Congress reiterated allegations of manipulation by the Election Commission. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera claimed that the early trends suggested Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was “acting against the will of the people of Bihar.”
“This fight is not merely between the BJP, Congress, RJD, and JDU,” Khera asserted. “It is a direct confrontation between Gyanesh Kumar and the people of India.”
The Aam Aadmi Party too backed Congress’s allegations, accusing the authorities of hijacking the election and pointing to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted shortly before the polls.
“I had earlier said this election has been hijacked and holds no meaning,” AAP MP Sanjay Singh said. “Gyanesh Kumar has already given the winning certificate to Modi ji. What will be the results in a state where 80 lakh votes were deleted, 5 lakh votes are duplicates, and 1 lakh votes are unknown? We should congratulate NDA, Modi ji and Gyanesh Kumar that they have won the Bihar elections with the blessings of Gyanesh Kumar.”
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav echoed the allegations, terming the BJP’s massive lead an “electoral conspiracy” and accusing the administration of manipulating the process. “BJP is not a party, it is deceit,” he said.
Yadav added that the “game” allegedly played through SIR in Bihar would not be allowed in states such as West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. “This electoral conspiracy has been exposed. From now on, we will not let them play this game. Like CCTV, our ‘PPTV’, meaning ‘PDA Sentinel’, will stay vigilant and thwart the BJP's intentions,” the former UP Chief Minister said.
Opposition parties collectively alleged large-scale electoral malpractice, claiming that the recent revision of voter lists was deliberately aimed at excluding communities that largely back the Mahagathbandhan.
