IndiaPosted at: Oct 8 2026 7:42PM


INDIA Bloc takes ECI fight to Raj Ghat, vows to continue ‘vote theft’ campaign

New Delhi, Oct 8 (UNI) Leaders and MPs of the opposition INDIA bloc on Thursday took their escalating campaign against the Election Commission of India to Raj Ghat, paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi before staging a peaceful sit-in demanding the resignation and removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and protesting what they alleged were large-scale irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were among the prominent opposition leaders who gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial along with MPs and senior representatives of several INDIA bloc parties, including the Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Samajwadi Party.
The Raj Ghat protest marked the third consecutive day of the opposition's intensified street campaign against the poll panel and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It came two days after INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters, where several opposition leaders were detained after police stopped the march near Akashvani Bhawan. On Wednesday, the opposition staged another demonstration near Jantar Mantar.
The atmosphere at Raj Ghat was markedly different from the confrontations witnessed earlier in the week. The Delhi Police permitted the gathering and the protest passed off peacefully, without the detentions and face-offs that had characterised the earlier demonstrations. Security, however, remained heavy, with Delhi Police and Rapid Action Force personnel deployed around the memorial and along routes leading to the protest site. Traffic diversions were also imposed in parts of central Delhi.
Before travelling by buses to Raj Ghat, INDIA bloc MPs held lunch meetings in Connaught Place to coordinate their strategy and discuss the next phase of their campaign. Opposition leaders made it clear that Thursday's satyagraha was another step in a continuing political movement rather than its conclusion.
The Congress said Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and INDIA bloc MPs from both Houses of Parliament paid floral tribute at Bapu's samadhi and "prayed for wisdom" for the Election Commission and the Narendra Modi government.
The party alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, union Home Minister Amit Shah and CEC Gyanesh Kumar were acting together to deprive people across the country of their voting rights. "They are snatching away the biggest right given to the people by the Constitution — the right to vote," the Congress said, asserting that the INDIA bloc's struggle against what it described as "vote theft" would continue.
The opposition's principal demand is the resignation and removal of Gyanesh Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner. It has also demanded withdrawal of the SIR exercise, restoration of names allegedly deleted from electoral rolls after due verification and the use of ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines for elections.
Opposition parties have alleged that the SIR process could disenfranchise large numbers of genuine voters through the deletion or exclusion of names from electoral rolls. They have demanded greater transparency from the Election Commission, access to electoral records and an effective mechanism through which voters can challenge exclusions.
The ECI, however, has maintained that the revision exercise is intended to ensure accurate and reliable electoral rolls and has rejected allegations that eligible voters are being systematically deprived of their franchise. The poll panel has repeatedly defended its actions as being in accordance with constitutional and statutory provisions.
The confrontation has consequently widened into a larger political dispute over the credibility and independence of the Election Commission. Opposition parties have accused the poll panel of failing to adequately address their concerns over voter deletions and alleged irregularities in the electoral process, while the ECI has maintained that the revision is necessary to keep electoral rolls accurate and up to date.
The choice of Raj Ghat for Thursday's protest carried a deliberate symbolic message. By taking their campaign to Gandhi's memorial, opposition leaders sought to portray the agitation as a satyagraha centred on what they describe as an assault on the constitutional right to vote. Senior leaders and MPs stood together at the memorial after paying homage to Gandhi, while party workers and supporters gathered outside amid tight security.
Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien described the sequence of protests as a continuing escalation, noting that the first day had seen MPs marching from Parliament towards the Election Commission before being stopped, while the second day at Jantar Mantar witnessed a tougher police response. Raj Ghat, he said, had a "different feel, different mood", with the serenity of the Gandhi memorial providing a contrasting setting for the opposition's campaign.
O'Brien also signalled that the INDIA bloc's agitation would continue, writing: "Day 4. Oct 9. More from I.N.D.I.A. United. We are not done yet."
The opposition campaign has gathered momentum amid repeated demands in Parliament and outside it for action on electoral-roll revisions. INDIA bloc leaders have sought to turn the issue into a wider national campaign, arguing that the integrity of electoral rolls is fundamental to the functioning of a constitutional democracy.
For the Congress and its allies, the dispute is no longer confined to the mechanics of the SIR exercise. They are seeking to make the right to vote, alleged voter deletions and accountability of the Election Commission central political issues. The government's position and the ECI's defence of the revision process have, in turn, set the stage for a prolonged confrontation between the ruling establishment and the opposition.
Thursday's peaceful gathering at Raj Ghat therefore represented a change in tone but not in political direction. With the INDIA bloc signalling further demonstrations in the capital, its campaign against the ECI, SIR and alleged "vote theft" is set to continue, keeping the controversy over electoral rolls and the independence of the poll panel at the centre of the political battle. UNI SKA AAB
Tags: #INDIA Bloc takes ECI fight to Raj Ghat# vows to continue ‘vote theft’ campaign
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