SportsPosted at: Oct 5 2026 8:47PM


Congress announces nationwide ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign

New Delhi, Oct 5 (UNI) The Congress on Monday announced an intensified nationwide campaign against what it alleges are irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, declaring that its agitation will continue until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is removed and what the party describes as systemic flaws in the electoral process are corrected.
The decision was taken at a high-level organisational meeting at the new AICC headquarters, Indira Bhawan, in New Delhi, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and attended by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.
AICC general secretaries, state in-charges, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents and national heads of frontal organisations participated in the meeting to chalk out the party’s next phase of mobilisation over the SIR controversy.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Venugopal announced that the nationwide “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” campaign would begin on October 10, saying the Congress would take its protest against alleged “vote chori” from major cities to the grassroots.
“Congress President has given a clear direction today to the PCC Presidents, In-charges, and General Secretaries for an aggressive, nationwide campaign against vote theft — ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’. This is the slogan we are raising,” Venugopal said.
He said the Congress had already held state- and district-level protests following what it described
as fresh revelations concerning electoral rolls and would now turn the issue into a sustained organisational campaign across the country.
“Our fight is to the finish. We will keep fighting on the streets until Gyanesh is removed, arrested and prosecuted,” Venugopal said.
Under the programme announced by the party, block-level marches will be held from October 10 to 20 and will culminate at the offices of Sub-Divisional Magistrates. From October 25 to November 25, the Congress will organise “village chaupals” across the country to explain its allegations concerning the electoral roll revision and involve village leaders and elected representatives in the campaign.
Booth-level Congress workers, designated by the party as “Vote Rakshaks”, will form the backbone of the grassroots mobilisation. According to the party, they will identify voters whom it believes have been wrongly deleted from the electoral rolls and assist them in seeking re-enrolment.
The Congress has also scheduled a major rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1 as part of the “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” campaign.
The party said the rally would bring together its workers and Opposition forces to intensify the campaign over electoral roll-related issues and what it alleges is the misuse of the revision process.
The next major mobilisation will be the “Delhi Chalo” programme on November 25 and 26, when six vehicle yatras are planned to converge on the national capital. The programme will culminate on Constitution Day, November 26, as the Congress seeks to portray the controversy over electoral rolls as a wider issue concerning constitutional democracy and the right to vote.
Venugopal also referred to the INDIA bloc’s ongoing programme of protests from October 2 to 8, including district-level demonstrations and “Save Democracy” marches.
He said the Congress campaign would build on those protests and turn the issue into a sustained nationwide movement. The announcement came a day ahead of a planned Opposition march to the Election Commission.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said INDIA bloc MPs would hold a peaceful march from Parliament to the Election Commission at 11 am on October 6 to protest against the poll panel’s handling of the SIR exercise and other alleged electoral irregularities.
The removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar has emerged as a central demand of the Congress campaign. The party has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of overseeing an electoral roll revision that could lead to the deletion of large numbers of eligible voters.
The Election Commission has rejected the allegations and maintained that the SIR exercise is being conducted under its constitutional and statutory authority, with mechanisms available to eligible voters to file claims and objections. The poll panel has also sought to counter what it has described as misleading claims surrounding the SIR exercise.
In recent fact-checks, the Election Commission has maintained that the order initiating the SIR in Bihar was approved unanimously by the full Commission and has cited judicial proceedings concerning the exercise in support of its position.
The Congress, however, has continued to challenge the Commission’s handling of the revision process and has demanded greater transparency over deleted names, the criteria used for verification and the mechanisms available to voters whose names are excluded from the rolls.
Rahul Gandhi has separately alleged that electoral forms were manipulated and that the revision process was being used to facilitate what he has termed “vote chori”, allegations rejected by the Election Commission.
Venugopal made clear that the campaign would not be limited to a series of isolated demonstrations but would become a continuing political and organisational exercise.
Quoting Rahul Gandhi, he said: “This agitation is not going to end tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. This will be a continuous, aggressive campaign till Gyanesh Kumar is removed and the system has to be corrected.”
The Congress leadership is seeking to transform the SIR controversy into a broader political campaign around electoral rights, institutional accountability and protection of the voter’s franchise. With block-level marches, village chaupals, booth-level mobilisation, the November 1 Ramlila Maidan rally and the November 25-26 “Delhi Chalo” programme, the party is preparing for a prolonged confrontation with the Election Commission.
The campaign also comes as Opposition parties seek to maintain a coordinated front over the issue.
The INDIA bloc has already announced a series of protests and marches, while Congress leaders have indicated that the party’s organisational machinery will be deployed across states and districts to identify voters affected by deletions and help them seek restoration of their names.
The Congress is thus giving the electoral roll controversy a sustained national political character, with “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” emerging as the party’s central slogan for the next phase of its agitation. The November 1 rally in Delhi and the Constitution Day mobilisation on November 26 are set to be major milestones in what the party has described as a long-term battle over the integrity of the electoral process.
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Tags: #Congress announces nationwide ‘Vote Bachao# Desh Bachao’ campaign
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