By Nidhi Razdan

Copyright gulfnews

For a political party that constantly ridicules India’s Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and questions his relevance, the BJP sure spends a lot of time attacking him and countering his criticism of the government. The most recent row came just days ago when BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya put out a social media post alleging Rahul was on vacation in Malaysia. “Looks like the heat and dust of Bihar’s politics was too much for the Congress yuvraj (crown prince), who had to rush off for a break. Or is it another one of those secret meetings that no one is supposed to know about?”, he said. Congress supporters hit back, saying it was time to normalise vacations for politicians and that Rahul Gandhi was just like any other person who needed a break. Of course the jury is out on whether Rahul Gandhi should be flying out so often and usually at odd times such as just ahead of the Bihar campaign now, or last year, during the seven-day mourning period following the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh..Bihar’s political soap opera: Nitish vs Lalu, Kishor, Paswan.But the fact is, the BJP is obsessed with Rahul Gandhi. Could it be that despite their bravado, they are worried that Gandhi is finally getting some traction on the ground, especially on the “vote stealing” issue? Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav just finished a Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar on September 1. They covered around 1,300 kilometres across 25 districts, and 110 assembly constituencies in two weeks. .Huge crowdsBy all accounts, the two leaders drew huge crowds on the ground, as they lead the charge against the Election Commission’s special intensive revision of voter rolls that has ended up excluding a large chunk of voters. In a big setback for the poll panel, the Supreme Court has also said that it has to consider the Aadhaar card as a document, something the election Commission was not agreeing to earlier. .Election Commission faces neutrality test in Bihar over mass voter deletions.Gandhi’s campaign has come at a critical time for the Congress ahead of the Bihar polls. After being reduced to a bit player in the state, the party has finally some reason to be hopeful this time thanks to the response to the yatra and the issues Gandhi is flagging. It has given the party cadre a much needed morale boost. Of course crowds don’t always mean votes, and whether this translates into electoral success will be tested during the elections in a few weeks. .Votes in questionBut what seems to be making even the BJP nervous is how the issue of ‘vote stealing’ has gained traction. The conduct of the Election Commission, which has been blatantly partisan, has only raised more questions about the intent and integrity of the voter rolls. Their refusal to directly answer many of the pointed issues raised by the opposition has only cast another cloud on the poll panel. The one power that even the poorest of India’s poor have is the right to vote, the right to change governments and make their voices heard through the ballot. When they see this being compromised or challenged in any way, there will be a price to pay. .Own goal?Privately, some BJP leaders are worried they may have scored an own goal. Across constituencies in Bihar, people have struggled to get the right documentation. Worried by the response to the Congress-RJD campaign on the revision of rolls, the BJP has now intensified efforts in Bihar to project greater unity within the National Democratic alliance (NDA). According to a report in ‘The Indian Express’, quoting a senior BJP leader, there is a fear that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls has “not yielded any advantage to the NDA either”, and may have led to “the deletion of many NDA voters” from the draft rolls. “There are barely any families which are unruffled by the exercise. The SIR along with the Waqf amendment legislation (passed by Parliament during the Budget Session) have consolidated the Muslim-Yadav base for the RJD and the Congress”, according to this leader. The same report says BJP leaders did not forsee such large crowds for Rahul Gandhi’s yatra.And that perhaps explains the renewed attack on Rahul Gandhi and the absurd conspiracy theories that the BJP IT cell keeps peddling on his foreign trips. The real test comes now during the Bihar polls for which the countdown has begun..India’s Congress party squanders chance to lead on national security narrative.Why the Indian Election Commission’s recent moves are drawing national attention