RAHUL’S VOTE THEFT NOISE MAY BE THE KEY TO NDA’S VICTORY

RAHUL’S VOTE THEFT NOISE MAY BE THE KEY TO NDA’S VICTORY

31-AUG-ENG 3

RAJIV NAYAN AGRAWAL

ARA------------------------------Amid the political turmoil over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, the survey (28 August 2025) has made a shocking revelation. In the survey, 58% people said that the purpose of SIR is only to ensure the right to vote to the citizens. But Rahul Gandhi's 'vote theft' tour and the allegations of the opposition have heated up the issue.

The India Today-CVoter Mood of the Nation (MOTN) survey said that 17% people said it was in favor of the ruling NDA, while 12% questioned its timing. After all, what does the mood of the public say, and what will be the impact of the SIR controversy amid the NDA's strong hold in 19 states? Let's unravel every layer of this political storm!

India Today-CVoter's MOTN survey (1 July-14 August 2025) polled 2,06,826 people, including 54,788 new interviews and 1,52,038 tracker data.

The survey projects NDA to win 324 seats (BJP: 260) and INDIA alliance to win 208 seats, giving NDA a lead of 116 seats.

The Election Commission began SIR in Bihar on 24 June 2025, which will continue till 30 September. This is the first major review of voter list since 2003. Nearly 3 crore people will have to submit documents of date and place of birth.

But the opposition called it a conspiracy to 'steal votes'. Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav, and Mamata Banerjee accused SIR of threatening the voting rights of minorities and migrants by linking it to NRC. Tejashwi claimed that his name was also removed from the list, which the EC rejected as 'fake EPIC number'.

Rahul Gandhi held a press conference in Delhi on August 7 and claimed 1,00,250 fake voters in Mahadevapura, Karnataka. On August 17, he started the 'Voter Rights Yatra' from Sasaram and made it a national issue. On X, he wrote, 'Vote theft is an attack on democracy. EC should give digital voter list.' Congress launched the website votechori.in.

But in the MOTN survey, only 32% found Rahul's claims credible, while 58% called it 'opposition's desperation'. EC sought an affidavit from Rahul, which he rejected. ECISVEEP said, 'Voter list is available in PDF, not machine-readable due to data privacy.'

58% public support to SIR strengthens NDA's credibility. Estimates of 33-35 seats in Bihar show NDA's hold. Rahul's yatra created a buzz, but lack of evidence and EC's response weakened it. The impact of SIR will be crucial in the Bihar assembly elections (October-November 2025). If the opposition cannot make it an issue, the NDA's path will be easy.

The SIR controversy in Bihar has become a new front of political battle, but the MOTN survey shows that 58% of the public consider it a move on voter rights. Will Rahul's 'vote chori' yatra be able to challenge the NDA's political supremacy?