Six Congress candidates who lost in the recent Bihar Assembly elections have approached the Patna High Court, alleging large-scale irregularities by the Election Commission of India (ECI) that they claim influenced the results in favour of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The writ petition was filed on Saturday by Pravin Singh Kushwaha, Amit Kumar Tunna, Rishi Mishra, Nalini Ranjan Jha, Tauquir Alam and Shashant Shekhar, all of whom contested from different constituencies across the state.
The petitioners have accused the ECI of favouritism during a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, ignoring alleged violations of the model code of conduct and manipulating results through electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Their counsel confirmed that the petition has been submitted and said they are seeking an early hearing, though details will be placed before the court after admission.
The legal challenge comes weeks after the NDA registered a landslide victory in the November polls, winning 202 of the 243 seats.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 89 seats, followed by Janata Dal (United) with 85. JD(U) supremo Nitish Kumar was chosen as the CM candidate.
On the other hand, the opposition Mahagathbandhan, including the Congress, suffered a heavy defeat, with the Congress securing only six seats.
The ECI has repeatedly rejected allegations of EVM tampering, citing robust safeguards, including VVPAT verification, and noted that no candidates sought post-count verification in Bihar.
