The Shadow Play in Bihar: Congress Cries Foul, Alleging 'Gigantic' Vote Theft

The ink has barely dried on the ballots, the jubilant cries of victory still echoing, but for Bihar's Congress party, the 2020 assembly election results are far from a clean sweep. In fact, they're calling it a monumental fraud, a "vote chori" – a theft on a truly gigantic scale – that, they contend, stole victory right from under the Grand Alliance's nose.

It's a bitter pill to swallow, you could say. The initial trends, remember, had painted a rather different picture; a nail-biting race that, for a good while, suggested a clear lead for the Congress-led Mahagathbandhan. And then, well, then things shifted, dramatically, inexorably, towards the NDA. For Congress, this wasn't just the natural ebb and flow of an election count. Oh no, not at all.

Leading the charge with palpable indignation is senior Congress leader Randeep Surjewala. He hasn't minced words, leveling blistering accusations against the BJP-JDU coalition. This wasn't merely a political loss, in his view; it was, quite frankly, a "conspiracy to hijack the mandate of the people." A strong claim, wouldn't you agree?

So, what exactly are these explosive allegations rooted in? The party points to what they describe as widespread "manipulation in counting of votes." They're talking about subverting the very mandate, alleging outright "tampering of EVMs" – those electronic voting machines that have long been a focal point of electoral debate – and a brazen "misuse of administration" to sway outcomes. Add to that, the chilling invocation of "muscle power," and you begin to grasp the depth of their outrage.

It’s not just vague generalities either. Specific instances, they argue, paint a damning picture. Take Hisua, for example, where the Congress candidate, Aditi Singh, was reportedly leading by a comfortable 1700 votes. And then, quite suddenly, the narrative flipped; she lost, ultimately, by a mere 370. A strange turn of events, indeed. Similar stories, they claim, unfolded in constituencies like Sheikhpura, Wazirganj, Matihani, Faraasganj, and Kumheraar. Leads evaporated, victories turned into defeats, all in the final, tense moments of counting.

For the Congress, the message is stark: they may have officially lost the election, but they firmly believe they won the people’s mandate. The results, as declared, are tainted, the product of a rigged game rather than a fair fight. And honestly, who could blame them for feeling a bit raw? The battle for Bihar might be over on paper, but the war over its legitimacy, it seems, has just begun.