Patna (Bihar) [India], September 1 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Jitendra Awhad on Monday alleged that the Election Commission has become a 'mere puppet' and accused the BJP of sitting in power by stealing votes.

'We will have to make the people aware that they are sitting in power, by stealing votes in Haryana, Maharashtra and the nation,' Awhad told ANI in Patna.

'They are ending democracy, and the Election Commission of India and the Chief Election Commissioner have become mere puppets,' he added.

Asked about the alleged derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother during Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, he said: 'I don't think that any wrong words were used against PM Modi. There is no need to make an issue of it...'

The Voter Adhikar Yatra will conclude in Patna today. Several Opposition leaders will participate in the final day of the yatra.

Several INDIA bloc leaders have attended the yatra across different points. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin have joined the rally.

Other chief ministers, including Karnataka CM Siddharamaiah, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Sukhu, and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy, participated in the yatra.

The 16 day yatra, taken out by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to highlight the alleged case of 'vote chori' (vote theft) by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and the alleged irregularities in the voter list by the Election Commission of India (ECI), will conclude in Patna on September 1, Monday from Patna's Gandhi Maidan to the Bhim Rao Ambedkar Statue in Ambedkar Park.

The rally began on August 18, with Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav riding together in Sasaram. From there, the rally spanned across 25 districts, to Aurangabad, Gayaji, Siwan and others.

Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal said that the yatra has been a 'ray of hope' against the 'blatant destruction of democracy.'

The INDIA bloc leaders visited around 110 assembly constituencies in the poll-bound state, covered over 1,300 kilometres, and saw the presence of multiple leaders. (ANI)