Kirti Azad says booths were captured in Bihar for Congress leaders, his father and him

Former India cricketer Kirti Azad, who joined the Congress on February 18 after falling out with the BJP, said booth capturing had once been widespread in Bihar and that several Congress leaders had gained from it. Azad, who was elected on a BJP ticket in 2014, made the remarks at a public event in Darbhanga, Bihar.

What Azad said

Speaking in Hindi, Azad said there was a time when Congress workers used to loot polling booths in Bihar, and that this had been done for Congress leader Nagendra and others. Booth capturing, he said, was common in that era.

He also admitted that his own family had benefited. According to him, booths were captured for his father, and for him as well in 1999, at a time when electronic voting machines had not yet been introduced.

Why he left the BJP

Azad said people asked him why he broke away from the BJP despite having been a party leader for many years. He said that in recent years he had seen what he called the shocking and communal face of the BJP, and so decided to leave the party.

His comments were notable because they came only days after he joined the Congress, and they touched on the party’s own past in the state.

See also: Indian National Congress and Lok Sabha members.

Originally published on 21 February 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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