Bhubaneswar- The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, led by President Bhakta Charan Das, has announced a statewide Mashal Yatra to protest what it calls large-scale electoral fraud in the 2024 Assembly elections. Das said the initiative aims to safeguard democracy and uphold the people’s mandate, with rallies to be held in all districts.
Alleging serious irregularities in the voter list, Das questioned the surge of nearly 42 lakh votes between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. on polling day. He also pointed to the unusual outcome where the Biju Janata Dal, despite winning 51 Assembly seats, failed to secure a single Lok Sabha seat, contrasting it with the proportional results seen in 2009.
The protest is part of a broader Congress campaign to restore the sanctity of the electoral process. At the national level, Rahul Gandhi has accused the BJP of manipulating voter rolls in collusion with the Election Commission, claiming multiple registrations at single addresses and citing examples from Karnataka. The Election Commission has dismissed these charges as baseless, stating that any proof of double voting should be submitted via affidavit. Meanwhile, the BJD has also signalled plans to approach the Orissa High Court over alleged voting discrepancies.
