'Bihar does not take him seriously': BJP mocks Tejashwi's 'poll boycott' threat; calls it to 'nervousness'

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday slammed RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav's call for a possible "poll boycott", interpreting it as a sign of the Mahagathbandhan's nervousness about potential defeat in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections.

In a post on X, the BJP said Tejashwi is desperately looking for a way to avoid facing the electorate.


"Facing the prospect of defeat, Tejashwi Yadav is desperately searching for a way to boycott the elections. There are serious reasons behind Tejashwi’s despair," the party said.

The BJP claimed that Tejashwi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had expected widespread public support in their opposition to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, but were left isolated.

"In Bihar, Tejashwi and Rahul expected massive public support in their opposition to the voter revision process. However, not a single voter in Bihar stood with them. Voters enthusiastically participated in the SIR process," the party said.

"It is clear, therefore, that Bihar’s voters have outright rejected Tejashwi’s opposition to SIR. Over 98% of voter data has been included in the process. After being rejected by Bihar’s voters, Tejashwi has privately realised that Bihar does not take him seriously at all. Hence, out of nervousness about an impending defeat in the elections, he has now started talking about boycotting the elections." it added.

Calling Tejashwi's stance “dangerous,” the BJP also alleged that his words were a direct attack on public opinion.

"Tejashwi’s intention is even more dangerous — this is a direct attack on public opinion. No party in a democracy talks about boycotting elections. In the past, slogans of boycott were raised by Naxalites and Maoists. But now, Tejashwi has openly expressed his intent to follow that path. This is extremely dangerous. In the despair of defeat, venting frustration against the public and attacking public opinion — Bihar will not tolerate this," the BJP said.

Tejashwi had earlier suggested that the Mahagathbandhan might consider boycotting the upcoming assembly elections, citing alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s special revision of electoral rolls.

“That too can be discussed. We will see what the people want and what everyone’s opinion is,” Yadav told IANS, when asked if a poll boycott was on the table.

According to the Election Commission, 98.01% of voters in Bihar have been covered under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) as of July 23. Officials said the process has so far identified nearly 20 lakh deceased voters, 28 lakh individuals who have permanently migrated, 7 lakh voters enrolled in multiple locations, 1 lakh untraceable voters, and around 15 lakh unreturned voter forms. The EC also noted that 7.17 crore voter forms — roughly 90.89% of the total — have been received and digitised.

This is the first such revision in Bihar in 22 years. According to EC, the aim of the SIR is to clean up the electoral rolls by removing ineligible, duplicate, or non-existent entries, while ensuring all eligible citizens are included.