Last Updated on November 22, 2025 1:33 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Shakti Singh Yadav
Staff Reporter / Patna
Breaking its week-long silence after the party’s poor performance in the recently concluded Bihar assembly elections, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Election Commission (EC), alleging that the people’s mandate had been “stolen”. The party demanded that the poll body present a clear explanation before the public to restore its transparency and trust.
The RJD, led by Lalu Prasad, had focused heavily on “vote chori” claims throughout the campaign, a charge consistently echoed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Gandhi in their poll rallies. Reiterating these allegations, RJD chief spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said in a detailed video statement that several financial transactions made during the election period raised serious questions about the conduct of the Commission.
He alleged that funds under various government schemes were credited into beneficiaries’ bank accounts during the poll process, including GST advances and payments linked to World Bank-related programmes. “Despite this, the EC did not intervene. If cash distribution during the voting process is allowed, then what does the model code stand for?” he asked.
Yadav also accused the EC of influencing results by rejecting a significant number of postal ballots, particularly in constituencies where the contest was extremely close. He pointed to the seats of Nabinagar, Agaion and Sandesh, where dozens or hundreds of postal votes were invalidated, allegedly altering the outcomes. In Nabinagar, the RJD lost by 112 votes after 132 postal ballots were rejected; in Sandesh, the party lost by just 27 votes after 360 postal ballots were declared invalid.
The party further cited incidents involving CCTV cameras being covered at sensitive counting centres, the alleged entry of a truck into the strongroom in Sasaram, and abandoned VVPAT slips seen at public places. Such developments, the RJD said, amounted to “gross misuse of state machinery” and raised suspicion of manipulation.
The RJD argued that constitutional bodies were being “hijacked”, warning that unless the EC answers these concerns, its impartiality will remain in question. It appealed to citizens to “come forward to save democracy”.
The party also drew attention to a viral social media post involving two JD(U) students from Rajgir and Kurhani, accusing them of brandishing blank vote slips allegedly provided by a teacher. The RJD claimed these incidents further highlighted irregularities in the election process.