Tejashwi Yadav Raises Concerns Over Potential Vote Manipulation in Bihar Assembly Elections

"Count the votes impartially," Tejashwi Yadav appealed to the Election Commission.

Patna:

Tejashwi Yadav, the Chief Ministerial candidate of the Grand Alliance, expressed concerns about potential manipulation of election results on the eve of vote counting. During a press conference held late evening, Yadav stated, "We have received information that a strategy has been developed to slow down the entire counting process tomorrow, especially in seats where the margins are low."

"Our appeal to all officials, and especially the Election Commission, is that -- count the votes impartially," he emphasized.

Yadav's concerns about low-margin seats stem from the 2020 assembly election results, where the Opposition Grand Alliance lost several seats by narrow margins, sometimes fewer than 1,000 votes.

In that election, the alliance finished with just a 12-seat difference behind the ruling NDA, securing 110 seats compared to NDA's 122 in the 243-member Bihar assembly. The RJD emerged as the single-largest party with 75 seats.

Yadav's statements come amid Opposition allegations of vote manipulation against the Election Commission and controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of voter list (SIR) in Bihar.

The Congress initially alleged that the electoral body was working under BJP influence to secure a favorable mandate for the ruling NDA. Both the BJP and the Election Commission, which Rahul Gandhi criticized in PowerPoint presentations, have dismissed these allegations.

Regarding the voter list revision, Opposition parties have claimed it was designed to disenfranchise non-NDA voters, an accusation the Election Commission has refuted.

Yadav further alleged that money power has been extensively used during this election to purchase votes.

"When we set out on the Voter Rights Yatra with Rahul Gandhi, it was clear that we would form government with more than 200 seats... But people steal mandates by distributing money illegally in the dark of night, especially the NDA government," he claimed.

Exit polls predict that the ruling NDA will maintain power in Bihar, with BJP emerging as the single-largest party. An aggregate of nine exit polls suggests the ruling NDA will secure 147 seats while the Grand Alliance will obtain 90 seats.

According to these predictions, RJD will win between 57 and 69 seats, down from their previous 75. The Congress, which won 19 seats in the last election, is projected to decline to 14.

However, exit polls have historically been inaccurate, particularly in Bihar where they have frequently failed to predict correct outcomes.

Vote counting is scheduled to begin at 8 am on Friday.