New Delhi, July 24 (IANS) BJP leader Amit Malviya lashed out at Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday for doubting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll in Bihar, claiming the RJD leader’s hints at possible boycott of the Assembly elections amount to conceding defeat and “running away in desperation”.

Malviya, who is the BJP’s IT cell chief, wrote on X, “Now with four days left, more than 98 per cent of the voter revision work has been completed. “This is a big blow to Tejashwi and Rahul Gandhi.”

“Tejashwi Yadav’s idea of boycotting the elections proves that he has accepted that the voters of Bihar have completely rejected his campaign against SIR (Special Intensive Revision),” said Malviya.

“There is a saying, ‘As soon as the head is shaved, hail falls.’ There are still two-three months left for the elections, but Tejashwi, sensing his slipping ground, has already started running away in desperation,” said Malviya.

The BJP leader went on to hit out at the former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister, saying, “Earlier, Tejashwi boycotted the voter revision, thinking that the people of Bihar would stand with him. But the exact opposite happened – the people are enthusiastically participating in this SIR festival of democracy.”

Now with four days left, more than 98 per cent of the voter revision work has been completed. This is a big blow to Tejashwi and Rahul Gandhi, he said.

“All their hard work has gone to waste. Not a single voter from Bihar joined them in their campaign against SIR. This is a clear indication that Tejashwi and Rahul are hyping a baseless issue,” he said.

Earlier, Tejashwi Yadav hinted on Wednesday at the possibility of boycotting the upcoming Assembly elections to protest a “deliberate” disenfranchisement of voters.

“When elections are not being conducted honestly, then why are we conducting elections? The elections have been compromised,” Yadav said in Patna.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader alleged that under the guise of voter list revision, the BJP and the Election Commission of India (ECI) are working together to clean opposition voters rather than cleansing the democratic process.

On Thursday afternoon, the student wing of the Congress — National Students’ Union of India — clashed with law enforcers in Patna while protesting alleged irregularities in SIR.

In Delhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the ECI of not doing its job and called it a “serious issue”.

Gandhi warned that poll panel officials cannot get away with lapses as “we are going to come for you”.

Refraining from answering media queries on the possibility of boycotting Bihar Assembly elections, Gandhi hit out at the ECI while addressing reporters outside Parliament and said, “Today they have made a statement, and this is complete nonsense. The fact of the matter is that the ECI is not doing its job.”

–IANS

rch/dpb