Tejashwi slams rolls revision, says poll boycott an option

PATNA: RJD is contemplating a boycott of the Bihar assembly polls over the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls, leader of opposition Tejashwi Yadav said Wednesday, flagging what he alleged was an exercise commissioned by BJP to "undermine the democratic process and manipulate voter data"."If they want to win the elections through fraudulent means, then what's the point of conducting them?" he told reporters in Patna, just over a week after questioning the authenticity of emerging data about illegal immigrants infiltrating the electoral rolls through fraud.Tejashwi said he wouldn't rule out RJD skipping an electoral process it didn't believe in. "Ho sakta hai (That is possible). We will consult our (INDIA bloc) partners and the people before taking a final call," he said.Tejashwi made the remarks at a joint presser with INDIA bloc partners.Congress backed RJD's stand, saying it was aware of allegedly largescale irregularities in revising the rolls. "We will discuss the issue... Agar vote hi chala gaya toh phir... (If potential votes vanish, then...)," Congress legislature party chief Shakeel Ahmad Khan said, leaving the rest unsaid. CPI-ML state secretary Kunal said it was "too early to say anything about a poll boycott", although he acknowledged RJD's concern about many names being struck off the electoral rolls.JD(U) said Tejashwi's boycott threat reflected his apprehension about the opposition's grim prospects in the elections later this year.