'Vote theft' row: Opposition to intensify 'fight for democracy' with EC march and voters' list audit

The opposition MPs, led by the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will hold a march to the Election Commission office in Delhi on Monday to protest against the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged poll rigging.

 

Over 300 MPs are expected to participate in the march, which will begin at 11:30 am from Parliament. 

 

According to reports, the opposition has requested an appointment with the two election commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner.

 

Later in the day, Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, will host a dinner for the INDIA bloc MPs at the Hotel Taj Palace in Chanakyapuri.

 

The dinner comes days after Rahul Gandhi hosted a similar meeting at his residence. This was the first physical meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders since they last met in June 2024, soon after the Lok Sabha elections, at Kharge's residence.

 

Leaders of 25 parties attended the dinner at Rahul’s residence, where the Congress leader reportedly gave a presentation on the "vote chori model" being allegedly perpetrated by the BJP through the Election Commission.

 

The Congress has alleged "vote theft" in certain states and vowed not to give up its fight to safeguard democracy in the country. The party has even accused the Election Commission of acting as an "agent" for the ruling BJP. 

 

"The Congress won't back down on the matter at any cost. This is an issue to safeguard the democracy of our country and we will go to any extent for the same," AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal said on Sunday.

 

He said the INDIA alliance parties will launch a two-week yatra in Bihar on August 17 to raise awareness about the issue. A meeting of Congress general secretaries and in-charges has been scheduled for Monday to plan their next moves.

 

The grand old party has said it will launch a comprehensive audit to expose the alleged irregularities in the voters' list from the last Lok Sabha elections. It allege that there were 48 constituencies where INDIA bloc candidates lost by fewer than 50,000 votes

 

Congress would carry out extensive checks in all of them, Venugopal said.

India