The political temperature in Bihar soared on Sunday as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi launched a blistering attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing it of openly siding with the BJP and attempting to manipulate the state’s electoral rolls ahead of the Assembly polls.

While evading a direct answer on whether Tejashwi Yadav would be declared the Chief Ministerial face of the Mahagathbandhan, Gandhi insisted that the alliance was united. “There is no tension within the Mahagathbandhan, only mutual respect. Our fight is against institutional bias, not each other,” he told reporters after a break from the ongoing Voter Adhikar Yatra.

Escalating his attack on the poll body, Gandhi alleged, “There is an institutional attempt to steal votes in Bihar, but we will foil it. There is a partnership between the ECI, the election commissioner and the BJP.”

He further accused the ECI of shielding BJP leaders from accountability while selectively targeting opposition voices. “When I pointed out one lakh bogus voters, the ECI asked me to file a sworn affidavit. But when BJP leaders made similar claims, no such affidavit was demanded. The people can clearly see which side the ECI stands on,” Gandhi charged.

Rahul Gandhi also warned that Bihar would not see a repeat of what he termed as “vote thefts” in Maharashtra, Haryana, and Karnataka. “You indulged in theft in Maharashtra and Haryana. We exposed it in Karnataka, but we won’t let this happen again in Bihar,” he declared.

Joining Gandhi in the frontal attack, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav accused the poll panel of becoming a tool of the ruling party. “The Election Commission’s reputation has hit rock bottom. Today, it is functioning like one of BJP’s cells. Our march is to save the Constitution and protect people’s right to vote,” Yadav thundered.

The opposition’s 16-day ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, covering over 1,300 km across 20 districts, is aimed at protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. According to the Mahagathbandhan, this exercise is disenfranchising voters in large numbers — a charge the ECI has strongly denied.

The Yatra, set to culminate in Patna on September 1, is expected to become the Mahagathbandhan’s biggest show of strength ahead of the crucial Assembly elections, where more than seven crore voters will decide the fate of 243 seats.