Patna: Senior officials from the Rashtriya Janata Dal have made serious accusations against the Bihar government and the Election Commission, asserting that electronic voting machines were “manipulated” during the assembly elections. According to party representatives, this supposed “operation” was orchestrated from Patna’s Maurya Hotel, involving various ministers currently “under investigation”. The Mahagathbandhan faced a significant defeat in the elections, winning just 35 seats, with the RJD obtaining 25. This is a notable decline from last year, when the party was the foremost political entity. A meeting of the RJD legislature party convened in Patna on Monday evening to assess the loss. Attendees noted a key concern regarding widespread “EVM theft”.
RJD MLA Bhai Virendra claimed that votes were pilfered by manipulating EVMs as part of a centrally coordinated effort. “Everyone knows who was at Maurya Hotel and what tasks were handled. Votes were manipulated via the EVM, which is why we lost,” he stated. He expressed doubts about his own victory margin in the Maner constituency, suggesting he should have received over 50,000 votes but only garnered 20,000. “There was a conspiracy in my constituency as well. We are gathering evidence and will pursue legal action,” he added. Veteran party official Abdul Bari Siddiqui noted that the meeting unanimously supported Tejashwi Yadav as the legislature party leader.
Another senior MLA, Alok Mehta, characterized the 2025 election as “not a normal contest”. “No one anticipated such results,” Mehta remarked. “The party is compiling evidence. Once we have sufficient proof, we might consider legal measures.” Mehta also criticized the administration’s conduct during the elections, alleging that officials seemed to be “influenced from outside”. “The way the results were determined was highly calculated. We are verifying all occurrences,” he stated. At the conclusion of the review meeting, Tejashwi Yadav was re-elected as the Leader of the Opposition in the Bihar Assembly. RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and former Chief Minister Rabri Devi were in attendance during the discussions.
The Mahagathbandhan secured a total of 35 seats: RJD – 25, Congress – 6, CPI (ML) – 2, CPI (M) – 1, IPP – 1. The NDA achieved a significant victory with 202 seats, which included: BJP – 89, JD(U) – 85, LJP (Ram Vilas) – 19, HAM – 5, RLM – 4.
