- 7 weeks ago
The big talking point of this episode of News Today is the first phase of the Bihar Assembly elections, which concluded on Thursday.
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00:00Good evening, hello and welcome. Your week, the news today, your prime time destination, news, newsmakers, talking points.
00:08The show that brings you news without the noise. It's the first big battleground day in Bihar.
00:15The first round is over. Half of Bihar has voted.
00:18We'll tell you what the highest ever turnout in Bihar in the last 20 years means for the election with top pollsters.
00:26Also, we'll be on the campaign trail with Prashant Kishore. I joined him earlier this week and we'll have that special coming up with the X Factor of this Bihar elections.
00:37Plenty to look forward to as always on the news today. But first, it's time for the nine headlines at nine.
00:45The highest ever voter turnout in Bihar's history so far over the last 20 years.
00:5264.66% provisional turnout reported.
00:56Begu Sarai sees the highest voting.
00:59Patna witnesses just over 55%.
01:02A 10% jump overall.
01:06Bihar's Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sina attacked.
01:10Cow dung pelted on his car.
01:12He blames the RJD.
01:14RJD claims it's a desperate attempt by the BJP to intimidate the administration.
01:20A day after Rahul Gandhi points out flaws in Haryana's voter electoral rolls, the Brazilian model at the center of the controversy speaks out.
01:32Claims she had nothing to do with Indian politics.
01:34A block-level officer admits to India today that the photo misprint was there.
01:40Some were rectified, but others could not be done.
01:43A probe launched against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's son, Parth, in a 300-crore land deal.
01:54Chief Minister Fatnavis calls the charges serious.
01:57Ajit Pawar claims he has no connection with the issue.
02:00Delhi High Court raps Patanjali over Chavan Prash ad, asking how the company could describe rival products as a fraud.
02:11Lee was filed by Dhabar India, seeking an injunction against Ramdev's ad.
02:18Setback for the Karnataka government amidst RSS Root March dispute.
02:22Karnataka High Court dismisses a state appeal, staying a government order against gatherings on public property.
02:29Enforcement Directorate attaches the ex-cricketers, Suresh Rehna and Shikhar Davan's assets worth 11.14 crores in an illegal betting app, Money Laundering Probe.
02:45Trump once again revises his count of jets down during the three-day India-Pakistan hostilities in Pueh.
02:52Claims eight planes were shot down during Operation Sindhu.
02:55And Aksar Patel does the star turn as India beats Australia by 48 runs to take an unassailable 2-1-B in the series.
03:06And another wicket falls and India won't go away.
03:10Is it?
03:11But the big breaking news at this moment, we now have the provisional voter turnout figures for the crucial phase one of the BR elections.
03:2764.66%, the highest in over 20 years in BR, has been reported till 6 p.m.
03:34Remember, these are provisional figures, voting still going on in some places, so those figures could go even higher.
03:42So that's the big story.
03:44BR has witnessed a record voter turnout.
03:47It's gone up from 54% last time already to 64%.
03:51A huge 10% jump in voter turnout has taken place.
03:57And I just want to give you an update then on all that has happened in BR.
04:02In a moment, we'll find out what that high voter turnout means.
04:05But from some clashes on the ground to political showdowns, a quick look at what happened in the battle for BR today.
04:11BR's phase one polling wrapped up and the state has logged its highest ever voter turnout.
04:17Provisional voter turnout recorded at 64.66%.
04:21Begu Sarai, with over 67%, voting is leading the charts with the highest turnout.
04:27Patna registered 55%.
04:30BR's Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sina's convoy was attacked in Lakhi Sarai with an unidentified mob seen fencing stones, even throwing cow dung.
04:40Sina claimed that the RJD-backed workers tried to capture a booth.
04:44The RJD claims that the Deputy Chief Minister is desperate because he knows he's losing.
04:50The RJD-backed workers tried to capture a booth.
05:20Women have emerged once again as a big force, turning out in big numbers, setting the tone for the battle ahead.
05:28From Lakpati didis to Jivika didis, remember this has been a crucial vote bank for the ruling BJP.
05:35But remember there are women also demanding jobs, education and real economic independence.
05:41That woman vote will be closely looked at.
05:43Phase 1 also saw a row over the EC's order to verify the identity of burqa-clad voters.
05:49In Mokama, some Muslim women objected to removing the burqa, while in Darbanga, others welcomed the check.
05:55The issue turned political, with Union Minister Girirat Singh warning against Sharia law.
06:00RJD's Rabir Devi countered, accusing BJP of provoking communities.
06:04The Aam Admi Party has accused the BJP of stealing votes by voting twice.
06:09AAP Delhi Chief Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that former BJP Rajasabha MP Rakhir Sinha,
06:15who cast his vote in the Delhi Assembly elections, also cast his vote in Bihar.
06:20Sinha has denied the allegations, claiming his name was on the Delhi list.
06:23And due to his involvement in Bihar politics, he changed it to the village of Mansirpur in Begur Sarai.
06:29Okay, let's give you a sense of our election intelligence dashboard to explain the turnout figures.
06:41Turnout, as I said, could become key in these 121 constituencies.
06:45In 2010, it was 52%. Neetish had swept the election with the BJP.
06:50In 2015, he was with Lalu Prasad. It went up to 56%.
06:54Stayed there in 2020, an election held against the backdrop of COVID.
06:58This time, look at the jump. At least 9% and counting.
07:03This is huge, even by any standards.
07:06There is another critical factor which I want to point out, gender.
07:10In 2010, there was a 10% difference between men and women.
07:15Women are in pink there, the men in blue, 55 to 45.
07:19By 2015, it went to 20%. 20% more women voted than men.
07:24And in 2020, it was 18.
07:27This could be partly because a lot of men are migrant workers who go out and don't come and vote.
07:32We still don't have the gender gap for 2025, but that could prove crucial.
07:37I want to use this, therefore, to go to my guest.
07:40Amitabh Tiwari is joining me.
07:42Founder, Vote Vibe.
07:43Sandeep Shastri of Lok Niti is joining me.
07:47And I'm also joined by Yashwan Deshmukh of SeaVoter.
07:52Okay.
07:52I want to go to them to understand what this means, the high voter turnout.
07:59Amitabh Tiwari, a 10% gap between 2020 and 2025.
08:05What's your first impression of it?
08:07So, it's a huge turnout.
08:11And essentially, I mean, we have seen that a higher turnout could either mean a pro-incumbency
08:19or an anti-incumbency as well.
08:21While a lower turnout generally points to a pro-incumbency because voters do not feel
08:26enthused enough to go out and vote or do not see opposition having the mettle to defeat
08:32the incumbent.
08:33But I would say the key number, as you mentioned, will be the number of the female turnout versus
08:40the male turnout.
08:41If the female turnout versus the male turnout is equal to the historical average of, let's
08:48say, 3% or 5% or even higher, then it could point to good news for the NDA, especially
08:56the JDU.
08:57The JDU in the past has had a very high strike rate on seats where the female turnout is more
09:06than male.
09:07In 2010, it actually won 79 out of 115 on seats where women turnout was higher than male.
09:15In 2015, 61 out of 71.
09:18And in 2020, 37 out of 43.
09:21So, the probability of JDU doing well increases significantly in seats where the female turnout
09:28is high.
09:29And as we have seen in Maharashtra, as per CSDS post-poll study, 22% Muslims voted for Mahayuti.
09:4522% Muslims.
09:47And I can assume that the females would have voted in higher numbers.
09:50And that led to almost a three-fourth sweep for the Mahayuti.
09:55So, I see even a section of the Muslim Yadav women voting silently, perhaps, for the NDA if
10:03the female turnout happens to be much higher than the male turnout.
10:07And that could prove decisive.
10:09Because in our vote-wise survey, we had shown that around 6% females had said that they could
10:18shift from a Jansuraj or an others to or Mahagadbandan to India, to NDA if they receive the rupees
10:2510,000 cash income support scheme.
10:29Sandeep Shastri, your first reactions to this high voter turnout.
10:33We still don't have the gender skew.
10:35So, it could well be that men also have voted in large numbers.
10:39But a 10% rise is almost unprecedented.
10:43How much of this could be attributed to the SIR exercise, which brought down the overall
10:48votes in Bihar down by about 45 lakhs?
10:50Is it a function of that?
10:52Or is there, does this show a very competitive election?
10:56Rajdeep, a 10% and still counting rise in voter turnout is phenomenal.
11:04Unprecedented and something that will be a major, major issue in this election.
11:10What is causing this 10% increase?
11:13I think it's a little too early to say.
11:16Is it the gender vote?
11:18Is it the youth vote?
11:20Or is it the mobilization anti-incumbency, mobilization pro-incumbency?
11:27Because there is no empirical data to show that higher voter turnout either helps the incumbent
11:32or helps the challenger.
11:35But, Rajdeep, I'll make just two quick points on the issues which I think we need to look at.
11:41One, I would agree with Amitabh ji for all the points he made.
11:46The only added point I would make is women vote is critical this time.
11:52And as you have said yourself in the earlier election, the gap between support for the Mahagat
11:58Bandhan and NDA was not that significant in the women vote last time.
12:03Women vote was higher than men vote, but women vote decidedly in favor of one of the alliances
12:09was not very strong.
12:10Will that happen this time?
12:13And if it does, would it be because of the transfer that happened to women in terms of support?
12:21Or will it happen because of the promise that the Mahagat Bandhan has made?
12:26For me, equally important, Rajdeep, is the youth vote.
12:31We have been saying that the youth have not been as enthusiastic in the past in Bihar.
12:36I think this higher voter turnout may be an expression of a higher percentage of youth coming out and voting.
12:46Because youth have issues.
12:47Youth have issues.
12:49Youth have issues of jobs within the state.
12:52Youth have issues of skill development opportunities in the state.
12:57So is this a vote in that direction?
13:00And again, it is very difficult to say at this stage whether even if it is on employment and on education,
13:07who is it likely to favor, the Mahagat Bandhan or the NDA?
13:12I think it's a little difficult to really track that at the moment.
13:16But definitely a 10% plus increase is something that is going to create a dramatic change in the politics of the state.
13:24You know, it's very interesting when you are looking at the MY.
13:28It used to be Muslim Yadav.
13:30It's now spoken about as Mahila and Yuva.
13:33Yashwan Deshmukh of C Voter.
13:35What's your sense?
13:36The highest voter turnout for 20 years.
13:39What does it mean for Bihar in your view?
13:41Well, Rajdeep, as we know that we have seen way too many elections where high turnout ended up being anti-incumbent,
13:53high turnout ended up being pro-incumbent as well.
13:56So I need to wait to see the gap between male and female turnout as we have been discussing so far.
14:03If this turnout is higher among the female, then it might be going one way.
14:08If it is among the male, it is higher on the other side, it will be going the other way.
14:12However, one thing I want to say, Rajdeep, is that overall upswing of the turnout is a very, very good sign for the health of the democracy, number one.
14:22It says that people at large have full faith in the process of democracy and the elections.
14:28And by and large, so far, as far as my consumption of news is concerned, the day has gone largely uneventful,
14:37meaning not really much of the news that the Bihar was known for decades during the election day.
14:45Nothing of that sort has come so far, in my knowledge.
14:48You know, so apart from the partisan thing that some people might say they are partisan,
14:56some people might say it is good for anti-incumbency, good for pro-incumbency.
15:01I see this largely as a reaffirmation of people's faith in the electoral democracy and electoral process of India.
15:10You know, Amitabh Tiwari, the interesting aspect is that normally, when we spoke about Bihar elections 20, 25 years ago,
15:20we would look at the violence meter.
15:22By that reckoning, violence has certainly reduced considerably in Bihar.
15:27But what we are seeing in Bihar, obviously, which has not changed, is the frozen caste identities.
15:34Is that also going to be a critique?
15:36When we look at high turnout, we are also going to have to look at which caste groups have come out in large numbers,
15:41particularly Dalits and lower EBCs, extremely backward castes.
15:46Should we also look very closely at that?
15:50Of course, as Sandeep Ji mentioned and we have discussed,
15:55so now we have added youth to the Mahila and there are, of course, now these caste considerations also,
16:02including the socio-economic class, have the poor and the marginalised sections turned up in higher numbers,
16:09or has the middle class and the, let's say, the rich class, which is less in number in Bihar,
16:15turned up in higher numbers.
16:17See, Rajdeep, I think there is one misconception which we need to clear,
16:21is that the number of voters in Bihar compared to 2020 have increased.
16:27They have not declined.
16:30So, this increase in turnout is essentially an increase in real turnout.
16:35It is not an increase just because the 8% names have been deleted from the voter list.
16:42So, that we should be very clear.
16:44There were 7.36 crore voters in 2020.
16:48Currently, they are 7.42.
16:49And if the turnout is 65%, of course, it's not phase 2,
16:56then it means that significantly higher number of people are turning up to vote.
17:02Correct.
17:03And it is also probably an indication, and there could be question marks,
17:08whether this SIR vote-chory campaign has really worked or not,
17:13not if a very high number of people are having belief and trust in our democratic process
17:19and turning out in larger numbers.
17:23Final word from you, Sandeep Shastri.
17:25If you are a betting man, and I know you are not,
17:28but over your long history of tracking elections,
17:31normally what does a high voter turnout indicate?
17:34Is there any clear pattern discernible,
17:36or is this generally a nationwide trend
17:39that every election is seeing higher and higher voter turnout?
17:43Rajdeep, the only trend indicated, which has been pointed out by Yashwanji,
17:50I think it is a stamp very decisively supporting the democratic process.
17:56And the voter of Bihar, she is asserting herself,
18:02he is playing a crucial role in saying, my voice is important.
18:06How is it likely to sway in terms of the electoral result?
18:12I think that, for me at least, there are two factors which are critical,
18:17the woman factor and the youth factor,
18:19and both these factors cut across caste.
18:23When you talk of caste, I think the woman factor in caste,
18:26the youth factor in caste becomes important.
18:30And I think how these two play out, as Yashwanji has been saying,
18:34if you have a higher male turnout,
18:37it could be indicative of greater support for the Mahagatma Bandhan,
18:41you have a significantly higher women turnout,
18:43it could be support for NDA.
18:46Youth vote is still very difficult to really talk about.
18:50I would say the youth vote swing would depend upon the caste factor also.
18:56Which caste group are you talking about among the youth?
18:58And I think these two factors, which you popularly call X factors,
19:06are what will shape, I think, the verdict, at least in the first phase.
19:10Let me get a final question from you also, Yashwan Deshmukh.
19:13The youth factor, which was just mentioned, much talked about,
19:17is that that age demographic which is at work?
19:19Bihar has the youngest voter percentage, 22% between 18 and 29.
19:24Could that become a big difference in this election?
19:29That could have made a difference, Radeep.
19:31And also, please keep in mind that the UR voter might also be the one voter
19:37which largely sits home due to apathy
19:41because they don't like either of the fronts giving solution.
19:45So some of the vote, youngster vote particularly,
19:49which is caste agnostic or process agnostic,
19:51might have got excited with the options like Prashant Kishore as well.
19:58So we cannot count that out,
20:01that some part of this larger turnout could be attributed to him as well
20:05if the larger number of first-time voter,
20:07larger number of less than 35 years of the voter has come out to vote.
20:13Thank you all very much for joining us.
20:14Clearly, everyone is being very cautious as to what this higher turnout means.
20:18But you've given us a sense as to why this is in many ways a landmark election in Bihar.
20:23Thank you all very much.
20:24Yashwan Deshmukh just mentioned Prashant Kishore and the PK factor.
20:28Well, I travelled with Prashant Kishore a couple of days ago
20:32to try and understand, is Prashant Kishore, the consultant-turned-politician,
20:37leader of the Jan Suraj Party, really enthusing crowds?
20:41What's his strategy?
20:43This is a no-holds-barred interview with PK.
20:47Listen in to Prashant Kishore on the campaign trail.
20:50Prashant Kishore what's his name is.
21:12Oh
21:42Okay, so we are on the campaign trail with Prashan Kishore and
22:04Prashan we've just seen over the last few kilometers aap ki jo nai tasweer ek taras hai, nya aftar hai
22:10I've always known you as an election consultant, kounsa ye aftar aapko patsand hai, ye politician ka aftar ya a consultant ka aftar, sach bata ye
22:20Noi, dèkho, ma afti jiwan ko das saal ke fayr me jita hai, das saal mai nai jiwan me bita aya, das saal joh mai nai kaam kaya jisko aap consultant bata raha hai
22:29Ab ma nai aapne liye tae kiya hai ki mujhe aapne raja ke liye bhihaat ke liye puch karna hai
22:32Noi, patsang kounsa hai, natural kounsa hai
22:35Dekho, jab mai ghiwil me tha, to mujhe wohh jindiki jyada patsang ki, jab mai so-called consultant tha, to wohh bhi aftsa lagta ta
22:41Aaj joh mein kar raha hoon, ye bhi mujhe utna hi patsang hai, tabhi itna kar pata hoon
22:45Joh chiz aapko patsang ma ho, to usko ap 15 ghthe daily nahi kar sakti hai
22:48Aapne eek, eek baar bhajtke, thiloh ka compare and contrast nahi kiya ki koun sa behtar hai
22:53Lekin, aaj joh kar raha hoon, if I'm not enjoying it, I would have not been able to do it for three year, three and a half years, 15 hours a day
23:00Aapne eek line kahi, arsh par ya farsh par, either you are in skies or on the ground
23:06Is to now mein, ya toh aap badhi jit hasil karayenge, ya aap single digit mein rahenge
23:10Aapne campaign more or less complete kia, arsh pe ya farsh pe
23:14Nii, ye toh nahi kya saskta hai, because if I would have known ki arsh pe ya farsh pe, toh mai bata djeta
23:19Yee, kyao mein keha raha hoon, arsh pe ya farsh pe, mujhe malum hai ki, ikhtem bihar mein, 14 tariqo history likha jayega
23:24Lekin, mei kyao arsh, farsh ki baat kar raha hoon, kio ki eek probability yeh hai
23:28Ki, loogho ne sab sunnye, semajnye ke baad hui
23:31Yeh trai karna hai ki, they have to take a leap of faith
23:34Some bad people ask me, bhai leap of faith leheni kiya jururret hai
23:37There is a sense of hopelessness in bihar
23:41Kichle 30-40 saalohs se, jab aapke jiewan mein kuch nahi padelta hai
23:45Toh, you need that extra push, extra nudge in your own head
23:49To take a step, bhaiya, yeh ho sakta hai
23:52Loogho, yeh, aisa nahi hai ki, yaa jati ki, bhai usta nahi toot rahi hai
23:56Ya, bhoot jahadah hindu musulman hai, yaa bhoot jahadah payse ka pravao hai
23:59Yeh, jaz aak chiz jus such as difficult hai
24:01To make people come out of their sense of hopelessness
24:04Yeh, itne prolonged period tuk loog, gari bhi or, ta daali mein raha gai nahi
24:09Unke sama ne agar koji raastah dhik bhi raah hai
24:11Tho, vohuspar unko yakin nahi ho ra hai
24:13Ki yeh, yang talus ho sakta hai
24:14Status ko versus change
24:16Jo badlab chaathe hai, aur joh cah raha hai, bah hi sahi hai
24:20Right?
24:20Maktub, aap usko mee aase kaya raha
24:22Ho kaa ji, toh, young ladka hai
24:23Ho tha bilkul daya yearning for change
24:25Usmeh kahi ko emak nahi hai
24:27I will show you in the vote. But those seniors who have been 30-40 years,
24:33some people have seen some of their minds, some of them have seen some of their faces,
24:37some of them have seen some of their faces, and they still don't have to do anything.
24:40They don't have to say that they are so much of their faces.
24:44This is the thing that I have mentioned, when we are covering,
24:48that people are more young, male and young,
24:50female and young. Is this your core constituency?
24:53Because this means that you cannot win in Bihar without social base.
24:57You don't have the right caste identity, your upper caste.
25:00So Prashan Kishon, how will you win?
25:02Is your social base now young, male? And is that enough to win an election?
25:07Look, if you will see the stage of Padyatra's face,
25:10that was 80% women.
25:12Because in the cities, only the women were made.
25:15The footage of Padyatra, 2 years ago,
25:18only my interaction was women.
25:21The majority.
25:22And from the old people.
25:23Now there are no young girls.
25:25But the young girls, when I did it,
25:27they listened to them in social media.
25:29Whether they were in the country or abroad,
25:31they listened to them.
25:32And when they came,
25:34they became the more vocal supporters of Jansuraj.
25:37Now you will meet some young girls,
25:39who are in social media.
25:41So I can bet my neck, irrespective of caste,
25:456 or 7 out of 10 would say Jansuraj.
25:47So are you a social media phenomenon?
25:49Those who are on Instagram, those who are on Facebook,
25:51are no Prashan Kishor.
25:53If I go deep into a village of Bihar,
25:56the same attraction is not there,
25:58because I am not on social media.
26:00Is Prashan Kishor a social media phenomenon?
26:02The difference is that young people have made up their mind,
26:11that if there is anything else,
26:12we should change the people.
26:13We should leave the people of Jansuraj.
26:15The older people,
26:17they can see what is happening now.
26:20They can see a little tentative.
26:22And that is the function of their own experiences over decades.
26:26I have seen that Mahila is also with Nithij Ji.
26:31By and large,
26:32a lot of women have benefited from Nithij Ji's program.
26:34You know that better than anyone else.
26:36You work with Nithij Ji.
26:37So what is this kind of match?
26:39Mahila versus UA.
26:40Mahila voter versus UA voter.
26:43Because women have just got 10,000 rupees also.
26:46This is state bribery.
26:48You are calling it state bribery.
26:50Of course it is state bribery.
26:5110,000 rupees is state bribery.
26:53It is state bribery.
26:54Be what it is.
27:15foreign
27:45This is no guarantee.
28:15This is no guarantee.
28:45This is no guarantee.
29:15This is no guarantee.
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29:19This is no guarantee.
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29:27This is no guarantee.
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29:41This is no guarantee.
29:42This is no guarantee.
29:43This is no guarantee.
29:44This is no guarantee.
29:45This do.
29:46This is no guarantee.
29:47You are saying that the BJP is more scared of the rights than they are.
29:52Thank you very much.
30:22You and Amit Shah still seem to have some kind of, that's one of the proxy battles.
30:52The reason I'm asking this, a few weeks ago, in fact in the early phase, you were targeting some of the BJP ministers.
31:02You targeted the likes of Samrat Chaudhary, you targeted other BJP leaders claiming that they were corrupt.
31:08You put out details and then suddenly you went silent on it.
31:11You haven't raised it as much in recent times.
31:13So the feeling is, some kind of a deal has been struck between Prashant Kishore and the BJP.
31:18Why haven't you taken that campaign to the people?
31:48So why did you decide not to contest?
31:56It's just function of time.
31:58I'm alone.
31:59I have to understand that, Raghuram and Drashmo, after 30 years, this is the first effort in which no political person is not a person,
32:09who is not a person, who is not a person, who is not a person, who is a person, who is a person.
32:13Arvind Kejriwal tried the same thing.
32:15No, no, Arvind Kejriwal had to do it in the country and that too with the backing of India against corruption and the undolent.
32:21He didn't start from scratch from scratch from India against corruption.
32:24He didn't start from scratch from India against corruption, where did he go from?
32:26Where did he go from scratch from scratch from scratch from India and Bihar is not Delhi.
32:30It's a ten times bigger and more complex, more complicated state.
32:34You said that you are ready to take on Tether Stream in Raghurpur.
32:49We have heard of it. We have said that if I am going to explain this to people,
32:55either you should fight with your own land or your own land.
32:58When we had a selection of candidates,
33:02the unit of Raghopur gave me an application that you should fight here.
33:06I said that if people want to fight there,
33:09if I don't fight against Raghopur, everyone wants to fight.
33:13I went to Raghopur.
33:15After that, the party of the executive committee said that
33:20the schedule will go to Raghopur,
33:22it will take 2-3 days.
33:23And each day it will cost me at least 8-10 consequences in terms of campaign.
33:27You cover about 8-10 consequences every day.
33:30One thing you can understand,
33:31one problem is that there is a moral dilemma for us.
33:34There are 200 candidates who are fighting against their lives.
33:38They have their entire lives.
33:40There is a doctor, an engineer, an attorney, a society, a journalist.
33:44They have put everything on their own land,
33:47in terms of Prasanthasour,
33:48that they will put their entire power and help.
33:52Now, if I am going to fight my own,
33:55they would have felt let down.
33:57One of the other challenges, presumably, is resources.
33:59And that has become a big question mark.
34:01You said, I have made 240 crores post post.
34:04You are having given up consultancy.
34:06You even bizarrely said, Naviuk Engineering, a company,
34:09gave you 11 crores for a mushroom product that they were going to bring.
34:12This is an infrastructure company.
34:14People think, where is Prasanth getting all this money from?
34:17Where is Prasanth?
34:18Is this money that is being laundered by someone and given to Prasanth?
34:22Why is Prasanth being given so much of money?
34:24You tell me that if somebody is laundering money and giving it to me,
34:29then who is the government in Kender?
34:31Who is the government in Kender?
34:32Who is the government in Kender?
34:33Why are they not holding it?
34:34No, that's the question.
34:35That's why people think B team.
34:36No, no.
34:37Prasanth Kishore has never been touched by ED, IT or any of these agencies.
34:41Rajdeep Sardesai has also not been touched by ED, IT.
34:43No, I am not.
34:44But I don't have 240 crores.
34:45I don't have 240 crores.
34:47No, no.
34:48That's not an answer, right?
34:49When an engineering company gets Lennon's gross.
34:50I am coming to it.
34:51I am coming to it.
34:52I am coming to it.
34:53No media can corner me on this part.
34:54But the argument you gave, that no one has done it.
34:56So, CB EDI has not done it.
34:57So, CB EDI has not done it.
34:58So, Sonia Gandhi has not done it.
34:59Rajdeep Sardesai has not done it.
35:00Rajdeep Sardesai has not done it.
35:01So, it means that you all are a B team.
35:02If that is the one thing.
35:03Okay.
35:04Now, come back to the question.
35:05So, if you have done it.
35:06You have done it.
35:07You have done it.
35:08You have done it.
35:09You have done it.
35:10You have done it.
35:11Rajdeep Sardesai has not done it.
35:12Rajdeep Sardesai has not done it.
35:13So, it means that you all are a B team.
35:15If that is the one thing.
35:16Okay.
35:17Now, come back to the question.
35:18Who has given money to him?
35:19Yes.
35:20I, Suomoto, on my own, has declared that in the past three years,
35:24Jansuraj has 241 crores, which is my own income.
35:27Yes.
35:28How much income tax has given it.
35:31The source of income.
35:33Obviously, you are professional.
35:34So, if you have tax on which you have tax.
35:36So, if you have tax on the first primary face income tax,
35:38you will have tax on which you have tax on the second half.
35:40You have told me.
35:41I have told you,
35:42I have told you,
35:43I have told you,
35:44I have told you,
35:45I have told you,
35:46I have told you,
35:47I have told you,
35:48my mind,
35:49my services are for sale,
35:51if I have to raise resources for Jansuraj.
35:53So, in this case,
35:54what are you talking about?
35:55The new engineering company,
35:56the mushroom product is doing,
35:57they have been investing in a product.
36:00They are making anti-aging,
36:01that is making a product anti-aging,
36:03that is making a fungicide from the mushroom,
36:05that is making a anti-aging product.
36:07And they are working for 15 years.
36:09Someone has told me,
36:10if you will launch this worldwide,
36:11this is a 10 billion market,
36:13this is a market,
36:14in this case,
36:15you can help us.
36:16They have come to us.
36:17When they come to us,
36:18they have said,
36:19you will help us,
36:20we will give you a stake in the company.
36:21I have told you,
36:22sir, we don't need stake.
36:23You do that,
36:24we can help you,
36:25you will contribute to Jansuraj.
36:27Is that a big challenge in this Bihar election?
36:29Because I sense for the first time,
36:30cash matters,
36:32perhaps even as much as caste.
36:34Because you are seeing,
36:35as you mentioned,
36:36the 10,000 rupees that has been given,
36:37there is a sense that the BJP has a huge advantage
36:40over its competition.
36:41As someone who studied election,
36:43is cash now becoming more and more critical
36:45to win an election,
36:46more than ever before?
36:48Obviously,
36:49in Bihar,
36:50when people have heard the first 20-25 lakhs,
36:52I am saying,
36:53on record,
36:54you are saying,
36:55so you are saying,
36:56on record,
36:57you are saying,
36:58you are saying,
36:59you are saying,
37:00you are saying,
37:01how much are you saying,
37:02is it costing per constituency,
37:04and on average?
37:05No,
37:06on average,
37:07how much?
37:08I will not say,
37:09because it is still working,
37:10but I am saying,
37:11on record,
37:12all by check,
37:13all by check.
37:15All by check.
37:17All by check.
37:18All by check.
37:19All your candidates have been given money by check.
37:21All by check,
37:22by bank account.
37:23You know,
37:24let's come.
37:26You know,
37:27let's come.
37:29But,
37:30what is it,
37:31if you are sending cheques
37:32with money,
37:33if you are sending money,
37:34you are sending money,
37:35and you are sending money,
37:36and you are sending money,
37:37who are spending money in cash,
37:38who are spending 10 times,
37:3920 times,
37:4030 times.
37:41But,
37:42I am a firm believer,
37:43that there is no election
37:44by the election.
37:45It is one,
37:46it could be one of the factors,
37:47but,
37:48you cannot win money,
37:49you cannot win money.
37:50People don't have so bad,
37:51they will take money,
37:52and then vote against them.
37:53As I come back to,
37:54arsh pay or farsh pay,
37:55whether you will be at the top,
37:56or at the bottom?
37:57I have said,
37:58I have said,
37:59when it comes,
38:00the people are asking,
38:01who will be sitting in the field,
38:02who will be sitting in the field,
38:03who will be sitting in the field,
38:04and who will be staying on the road.
38:05I have said,
38:06first,
38:07for me,
38:0810,
38:0920,
38:1040,
38:1150,
38:12because,
38:13I will continue with what I am doing.
38:14you will continue for the next five years,
38:16irrespective,
38:17even if you get zero seats,
38:19you will continue for the next five years.
38:21There is no difference.
38:22We have made money,
38:23when we are in MLA,
38:24and we have not made money status.
38:27The only thing is,
38:29is that,
38:30in Bihar's life,
38:31we can do something in Bihar's work.
38:32They are doing it.
38:33Prashan,
38:34as I said,
38:35whether the change is in the air or not,
38:37we will see whether the badlav translates into votes for you.
38:40Either way,
38:41it has brought some excitement,
38:42I can tell you,
38:43to the Bihar election campaign.
38:45And,
38:46we will wait and see,
38:47whether this experiment,
38:48On 14th.
38:49Yes.
38:50You will talk again on 14th?
38:51Absolutely.
38:52Right?
38:53Whether arsh pe,
38:54ya farsh pe?
38:55Arsh pe hi.
38:56Oh,
38:57now you have decided,
38:58that you have given up on farsh,
38:59and you are only talking about arsh.
39:00I have told you,
39:01that on 14th,
39:02you would be discussing,
39:03the history being created in Bihar.
39:05And history means,
39:06that the Jan Suraj,
39:07will get a majority.
39:08Yes.
39:09You will be the chief minister.
39:10No,
39:11it is not about chief minister.
39:12History will be,
39:13that Bihar will,
39:14see a dawn of new political era.
39:17Okay.
39:18I am going to leave it there.
39:20Appreciate you joining us,
39:21Prashant Kishore,
39:22and giving us your time.
39:25And,
39:26just a reminder,
39:27you will have the full interview,
39:28with Prashant Kishore,
39:29tomorrow,
39:306.30 PM,
39:31on India today.
39:32Look forward to that.
39:33Let me turn to the other big story.
39:35Because,
39:36Congress leader,
39:37Rahul Gandhi's claims,
39:38that he had exposed,
39:39a theft of 25 lakh votes in Haryana,
39:41continues to create ripples.
39:43What made headlines,
39:44was his claim,
39:45that a Brazilian models photo,
39:46was on Haryana's voter rolls,
39:48as many as 22 times.
39:50What's the truth?
39:52India today,
39:53Shreya Chatterjee,
39:54hit the ground,
39:55in Rai,
39:56Sonipat,
39:57and Sonipat,
39:58to verify the faces,
39:59the names,
40:00and votes,
40:01that Rahul Gandhi had flagged.
40:02Here is tonight's,
40:03special ground report,
40:05by Shreya Chatterjee,
40:06a fact check,
40:07of Rahul Gandhi's claims.
40:10Who is this lady?
40:13How old is she?
40:15Which state does she come from?
40:18What's her name?
40:19Is she from Haryana?
40:21Brazilian models picture,
40:22on a Haryana voter roll.
40:24Not once,
40:25but 22 times.
40:27in 10 booths,
40:30a claim,
40:32that has not just shocked,
40:34the public,
40:35but also,
40:36arguably,
40:37shaken their trust,
40:38in elections.
40:39So,
40:40we hit the ground,
40:41in Rai,
40:42Sonipat,
40:43and found the voters,
40:44cited by the leader of opposition.
40:46On camera,
40:47on record.
40:49Meet Pinky,
40:50from Machiroli village.
40:52The woman Rahul Gandhi,
40:53pointed to as proof,
40:54of voter fraud.
40:55This woman,
40:57who was the wrong place?
40:58Have you seen the video
40:59or the other one?
41:00Or the other one?
41:01Yes,
41:03The woman's wrong.
41:04No, no.
41:05The only photo was wrong.
41:06The only photo came.
41:07The only photo went wrong.
41:08The woman's wrong.
41:09Do you have the right?
41:10Yes,
41:11the woman's wrong?
41:12Yes,
41:13the woman's wrong.
41:14The woman's wrong,
41:15who gave her hand.
41:16She told us,
41:17she gave her hand.
41:18But, she didn't come.
41:19The woman's wrong?
41:20The woman's wrong.
41:21The woman's wrong with her?
41:22Next door, same story.
41:28Munish's family also says they voted.
41:52A boot-level officer in Rai confirms the wrong photo appeared three times in a survey.
42:22In Rai, Vimla's son confirms a duplicate voter ID in his mother's name.
42:36Same address, different epic number.
42:40He calls it fraudulent.
42:52Here is another voter, Anju.
43:01She did not vote in 2024.
43:15In another case, Sarot's name appears in Rai rolls with a Brazilian woman's photo.
43:20Her family is saying she moved to Bhimani in 2001 and calls the entry fraudulent, demanding a fair probe.
43:42In one case, the photo of a voter who died four years ago appeared to have been replaced with models.
43:50So who is this Brazilian model who made it to the headline slide of Rahul Gandhi's presentation against EC?
44:0328-year-old Larissa Neri is a model, hairstylist by profession and a digital creator by hobby.
44:09She is a Brazilian who has never visited India.
44:13But on Wednesday morning, woke up to a flood of calls and messages.
44:16I was on platforms where people who want copyright, free photos, could take them.
44:26I don't know very well, but unfortunately, I have nothing to say.
44:30I don't even know what to do.
44:32The photo is free for anyone who wants to use it.
44:34Rahul Gandhi's hydrogen bomb on Haryana vote-chory began with a serious allegation.
44:40A Brazilian model's photo appeared 22 times in 10 booths under one constituency.
44:46So while the Brazilian woman may never have voted in Haryana,
44:50her face has now become the real revelation behind India's electoral rolls,
44:57which exposes deeper cracks and also leaves plenty of room for political fire.
45:02With video journalist Nasir from Sonipat, this is Shriya Chatterjee for India Today.
45:08So several questions still unanswered and Shriya Chatterjee has done her best to track down
45:13all the voters who had the photograph of a Brazilian woman or model on their photo ID cards.
45:21O.P. Rawat joins us.
45:23Mr. Rawat, you know, when we went and contacted the BLO, the block level officer,
45:28she said this photograph was a misprint and it was rectified in some cases.
45:33In other cases, she's not sure whether they could reach out to all the voters,
45:3822 voters who had a Brazilian woman on the ID card.
45:41In the first instance, does this surprise you?
45:44Is this a sign, Mr. Rawat, that something is seriously wrong with our electoral rolls?
45:48Can it be explained as a misprint that a photograph is of a Brazilian woman,
45:5322 of them in one constituency in Rai in Ariana?
45:59Actually, the possibilities are there because all this work is outsourced.
46:08It is not government servants who are on deputation to the election commission,
46:12but the contractors, their men, they do this job.
46:17No, what job? What job, sir? What job do they do?
46:21The photos, printing, epic printing, all those jobs.
46:26I can't say that.
46:27Are outsourced?
46:27Yeah, outsourced.
46:29And that is one area where people will not have that kind of control
46:36which you have when only government machinery is involved.
46:39No, sir, but the fact is, does it surprise you?
46:43Or do you believe this is normal to have 22 voter ID cards
46:48with a photograph of a Brazilian woman and then the BLO says this is a misprint?
46:52Now, it has been rectified in some cases and many of these voters say
46:55they voted normally, there was without a hitch.
46:58But is there a possibility of this being centralised outside the system
47:02as Rahul Gandhi alleges that there are people infiltrating the system?
47:06Is that possible or not?
47:08One can't comment on the political aspect of it
47:12because politics is for politicians, not for us.
47:16Media can interfere, media can inquire,
47:19but I cannot speak about that.
47:21No, but the photo mismatch, sir,
47:23the photo mismatch prima facie to me suggests
47:26that something is wrong with the electoral rolls.
47:29Now, we don't know the scale of it.
47:32Rahul Gandhi is claiming 25 lakh voters either were fake or duplicate.
47:36But is the problem of duplicate voters serious?
47:40Is the problem of having fake voter IDs serious?
47:42That is where I will always tell that whenever any such issue is raised by a political stakeholder,
47:51election machinery at all levels must get onto it,
47:55inquire with all political parties represented on the inquiry team
47:59and put the facts in public domain so that media doesn't need to go from house to house
48:04and rebut all that.
48:06That is what we need.
48:08So would you say there needs to be, Mr. Rawat, a time-bound investigation,
48:12not just a press conference, but a full time-bound investigation done by the election commission
48:17and the details made public?
48:19If you were chief election commissioner, would you recommend that?
48:23It was done many times during my time.
48:26Whenever an issue was raised by a political party, it was done.
48:30House to house survey with all political parties represented on the investigation team
48:35and then all the facts were put in public domain as well as informed individually.
48:41It appears to me, though, that while Rahul Gandhi claims that there were these photographs,
48:49is that enough to claim that these photographs were multiple photographs with the same photograph
48:55with multiple IDs?
48:57It's not clear whether that means that there was large-scale bogus voting.
49:01What is your suspicion?
49:03Forget the politics.
49:04Is bogus voting on scale possible, sir, in our system or not?
49:10One can always say that our system is very foolproof.
49:18It is good.
49:19And so long as the polling party's agents, polling personnel and common voters,
49:28they are awake to their duties, I think nothing of this kind will be possible.
49:34Are you saying, therefore, that the polling agent should have caught this 13 months ago?
49:39Is it possible for them?
49:41But, sir, the thing is that there is those who are saying you need machine-readable voter lists.
49:48In a digital age, you need machine-readable voter lists so that it is easier to scan and find out these mistakes.
49:55Would you support any such move to make machine-readable voter lists available to all the stakeholders?
50:00Absolutely no.
50:01That is why I accept it.
50:03Absolutely no?
50:05Yes.
50:06I always say that machine-readable voter roll is with the election machinery.
50:11And therefore, it becomes their prime duty to address any concern raised by any political stakeholder
50:19to investigate immediately and put the facts in the public domain
50:23so that everything is put to rest and no media machinery is told to go from house to house.
50:30My final question, therefore, to you, CCTV footage, should it be kept for an extended period of time,
50:36not just 45 days?
50:37At least a few more days will be good enough because generally this kind of information is used
50:46for all-day activities, anything going wrong on that day, only for that purpose it is done.
50:52And therefore, when election petition period is over, I think after that it has hardly any utility.
51:00Net-net, sir, are you saying therefore to restore credibility an investigation should be ordered at the earliest?
51:09Would you concede that that is the best way forward and make the findings public? Am I correct?
51:15Whenever such issue is raised by any political party or a stakeholder, that is the best route.
51:21Okay.
51:23O.P. Rawat, you've spoken pretty plainly there.
51:27I hope someone in the Election Commission is watching.
51:30Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
51:33You need a proper time-bound inquiry to be conducted into these charges.
51:39Doot ka doot, paani ka paani time has come,
51:42rather than this constant slugfest between politicians and the Election Commission.
51:47Does no good to the reputation of the Commission.
51:49Thank you very much, Mr. Rawat, for joining me.
51:52That's just about all that we could pack in today on the news today.
51:56I thank you all very much for watching.
51:58Just a reminder, tomorrow night, elections on my plate is back.
52:03You've been waiting for it.
52:04It's back tomorrow from the Battle of Bihar.
52:07The flavours of patta and Bihar at election time.
52:12Thanks for watching.
52:13You stay well, stay safe.
52:14Good night, Shubratri.
52:16Jaihin.
52:17Namaskar.
52:17Never miss Liddy Choka when in Bihar.
52:24Bihar, I like Sattu very much.
52:26Let's go, Bihar.
52:28You're clean.
52:29First class.
52:30You and us are a competition.
52:31Woo!
52:32The name is Haida.
52:34He's alive.
52:37One Bihar, everyone.
52:39This is a do-and-die battle.
52:43This is a do-and-die battle.
52:46The people will be making Bihar.
52:46The people will be making 5 years.
52:49That's it.
52:49Do it.
52:50Hey!
52:51If NDA wins, NITISH KUMAR Chief Minister, 100%, no questions.
52:55100%.
52:55Can Suraj vote vote?
52:57You're watching this vote in the group.
52:58The group is watching this vote.
52:59The NDA vote.
53:00The NDA vote.
53:02You're going to take it.
53:03We're going to eat the food.
53:05Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
53:09The NDA vote voted.
53:10You're going to take it.
53:11Bye.
53:11The NDA, the Bihar.
53:12Bye.
53:12Bye.
53:13Bye.
53:14Bye.
53:20Bye.
53:23Bye.
53:24Bye.
53:26Bye.
53:28Bye.
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