Bihar Polls: Truck With EVMs Sparks Bihar Election Controversy
Hours before counting in Bihar’s 2025 Assembly polls, RJD accuses officials of smuggling EVMs into Sasaram’s counting centre — a charge denied by the administration.
SASARAM ( Bihar )- In a dramatic twist on the eve of counting for Bihar’s 2025 Assembly polls, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) has alleged a major case of “vote theft” in the Sasaram Assembly Constituency of Rohtas district. The party claims a truck loaded with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and ballot boxes entered the counting centre under suspicious circumstances late Wednesday night.
District authorities have refuted the charges, calling them “politically motivated misinformation.” Officials said the truck was carrying empty cardboard boxes and other logistical materials required for setting up counting tables.
The incident reportedly unfolded around 3 AM, when RJD workers on overnight watch claimed to have seen a truck entering the Vajra Griha counting centre at the Takiya Market Committee grounds. Viral videos shared on X (formerly Twitter) appeared to show the vehicle entering the premises without visible official markings.
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RJD workers confronted the drivers, alleging they were “plainclothes personnel” attempting to swap EVMs stored since polling on November 7. “We stopped the truck from entering further. There was no officer in charge, no document of authorization,” said one local RJD volunteer in the viral clip.
The confrontation briefly escalated before police dispersed the crowd. The party alleges the truck fled the site without inspection and accused local police of “aiding a cover-up.”
RJD spokesperson Mritunjay Tiwari called it “a daylight robbery of democracy,” tagging the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer on X. The party has demanded an immediate forensic inspection of all stored EVMs.
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Senior opposition figures amplified the charge. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that “evidence of theft is being erased” and termed the episode the “murder of democracy,” while AAP MP Sanjay Singh claimed “80 lakh votes were stolen in Bihar.”
In response, District Magistrate Priyanka Kumari dismissed the allegations, clarifying that the truck carried only “empty boxes for counting arrangements.” “No sealed EVMs were touched or moved,” she stated in a 7 AM briefing. The temporary CCTV outage, she added, was caused by a “minor power fluctuation” and backup footage was intact.
Kumari emphasized that the vehicle entered “with full authorization and police escort,” and accused the RJD of spreading panic. Superintendent of Police Shree Niwas Singh confirmed that “no tampering attempt” had been detected during checks.
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Meanwhile, BJP spokesperson Sidharth Nath Singh called the row “a desperate stunt by a losing alliance,” noting that exit polls predict an NDA sweep with 185–210 seats.
The controversy has heightened tensions in Sasaram, a bellwether constituency with 2.8 lakh voters and a 62% turnout. RJD’s Manoj Kumar Kushwaha faces BJP’s Haribhushan Thakur Bachol in a tight contest.
The Election Commission has yet to issue an official statement, though senior sources confirmed that a special verification team is en route to Sasaram. The Commission has deployed 500 companies of central forces statewide and reiterated that all counting centres are under 24-hour surveillance.
RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav, monitoring the situation from Patna, has warned of mass protests if “credible answers” aren’t provided by noon. “We will not let this electoral heist go unchallenged,” he said in a statement.
As counting begins across Bihar’s 243 constituencies, the Sasaram truck incident underscores the fragile trust in India’s electronic voting process — a debate that has resurfaced at nearly every major election since the adoption of EVMs.
