Inside INDIA bloc meet: United call for Gyanesh Kumar’s removal, rallies against EC & a ballot paper push

New Delhi: The Opposition Wednesday decided to take its fight over alleged vote theft to the people. The INDIA bloc that met in the national capital decided to hold joint nationwide rallies, district-level protests, and a march to the Election Commission. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi told INDIA bloc leaders that officials from the ED, CBI and Election Commission had been approaching him to speak about the government’s attack on these institutions, sources told ThePrint.

The leaders of 19 parties and one independent front met for over three hours and agreed on a six-point programme that includes ‘Save Democracy’ marches from 2 to 8 October, a 6 October march by Opposition MPs to the Election Commission (EC), a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu in the second week of October, and a mega rally in Delhi on 1 November.

Five rallies on the EC issue will also be held during October and November, with Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bengaluru among the cities discussed. A fifth city is yet to be finalised, sources said.

The meeting saw Opposition parties discuss a joint legal challenge against the EC, the use of technology in elections, the SIR exercise and coordination between the parties at the ground level. The bloc also backed the demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

This comes days after a report in The Indian Express said that decisions taken on the SIR process were objected to by two of the three Election Commissioners—Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi—”at least 14 times over the last 10 months”.

Rahul opened the meeting by speaking about West Bengal and “vote chori”, citing the destruction of EVMs in a June blaze in South Kolkata, sources said. He continued to back West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has been challenging the EC’s handling of electoral rolls in the state.

He also stressed on the need for team work, adding that he considers it a privilege to work towards saving the election process.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called for a return to ballot paper voting in future elections, saying the party would seek the change if it comes to power. He also said there was a consensus among the Opposition on moving away from EVMs.

Kharge also accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of functioning at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah and demanded his removal.

Former Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal argued that the Opposition should pursue the issue in court as well as politically.

He suggested that an FIR be lodged against Election Commission DG (IT) Seema Khanna, pointing out that Gyanesh Kumar has immunity from arrest, sources said.

The Mamata-led TMC faction backed Sibal’s proposal for a joint petition by Opposition parties in the Supreme Court. The legal strategy was discussed alongside the functioning of the Election Commission’s IT and ERO networks, with leaders agreeing to back a joint petition, sources said.

Mamata TMC MPs also raised the issue of Form 6, the application used when an individual wants to enrol as a new voter. Questions were raised about the vendors engaged by the EC and the manner in which the process was being handled, sources said.

The CPI pushed for the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment and service conditions of Election Commissioners, while also arguing that civil society groups should be part of the wider campaign.

The absence of the DMK also came up during the meeting. When leaders asked about the party, sources quoted Kharge as saying: “We invited them, they didn’t come.”

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav suggested setting up sub-committees within the INDIA bloc and appointing spokespersons to improve coordination between parties. He also argued that the alliance needed to meet more frequently.

Speaking about the Bihar election, Yadav said that despite the response to the campaign, including Rahul Gandhi’s participation, the alliance had “got looted”, sources said.

The Samajwadi Party representative also stressed the need for coordination at the ground level, saying parties such as the SP, TMC and RJD look to the Congress to organise and coordinate meetings.

Uddhav Thackeray and Hemant Soren joined the meeting virtually. Thackeray attacked the EC over the splitting of political parties into factions, and criticised Chief Justice of India Surya Kant over the dismissal of a bypoll-related matter as not being of serious consequence, sources said.

Thackeray said political parties were being broken up and that when the EC’s “theft” was caught, its response was “another theft”.

He also backed the Cockroach Janta Party’s planned 2 October agitation in Mumbai and urged other parties to join it, sources said.

The issue of parties being split was raised by several leaders during the meeting, with the consensus remaining that such moves weakened the democratic process, sources said.

The Left also pushed for a wider campaign. CPI(M) leader M. A. Baby spoke about the RSS, while Left leaders said that the INDIA bloc should involve civil society groups and other parties willing to take on the government.

The parties also discussed how to engage with political groups outside the NDA. Sources said there was a distinction between parties firmly aligned with the NDA and those such as the BRS, that have differences with the system.

There was also a discussion on a possible impeachment motion against the EC. The proposal was not taken forward, with the focus instead shifting to the street campaign, sources said.

Mamata said she wanted to fight the issue “as a worker” and get down on the streets.

“Together we have to fight, I want to fight this as a worker and get down on the streets,” she said, according to sources.

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