Congress leader K.C. Venugopal announced on Wednesday that Samajwadi Party president and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will join the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Sitamarhi, Bihar, on August 28.

“This yatra, led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, former deputy chief minister of Bihar Tejashwi Yadav, and senior leaders of the INDIA alliance, will be further strengthened by Akhilesh’s participation in our public movement against vote theft!” Venugopal wrote on X.

The campaign against what the Opposition calls “vote theft” has emerged as a rallying point at a time when the INDIA bloc has been under strain.

Even the Aam Aadmi Party, which had distanced itself from the alliance, has joined the criticism of the Election Commission.

The Yatra started on August 17 from Bihar's Sasaram and will conclude on September 1 at Gandhi Maidan in Patna.

Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday questioned the “sudden activism” of three district magistrates in Uttar Pradesh who recently responded to his allegations of voter list anomalies during the 2022 assembly elections.

“Why have the DMs responded after so many years?” Yadav asked on X.

Referring to the replies from the district magistrates of Kasganj, Barabanki and Jaunpur, he said: “Their replies prove that the Election Commission's claim that no affidavits were received was false. If there were no affidavits, what are these district magistrates replying to now?”

He described the officials’ statements as “superficial responses” that amounted to an admission of involvement, and demanded a deeper inquiry.

“Either the Election Commission or the DMs are lying. The court must take cognisance,” Yadav said, alleging a “nexus” between the BJP government, the poll panel and local administration that “hijacked democracy.”