Rahul Gandhi hosts INDIA bloc meet amid vote chori row

Rahul Gandhi hosted INDIA bloc leaders, students and civil society groups for tea in Delhi. The meeting signalled a coordinated opposition push on alleged vote chori and the demand for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

In Short

• The gathering followed protests and a Supreme Court petition on electoral rolls
• Opposition groups alleged poll irregularities linked to the Special Intensive Revision exercise
• Leaders discussed coordinating joint demonstrations and a common public messaging strategy

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday hosted leaders of the INDIA bloc, student organisations and civil society groups for tea at his residence in New Delhi. The meeting came as the opposition sharpened its campaign over alleged "vote chori" and its demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

The gathering followed a day of protests in the national capital and a joint petition in the Supreme Court against the Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll and alleged poll irregularities. Sources said the meeting at Gandhi's home was also expected to include discussions on the strategy for joint protests on the issue.

Among those present at Gandhi's 5, Sunehri Bagh Road residence were Tejashwi Yadav and Manoj Jha of the RJD, Mahua Maji of the JMM, Harender Malik, Anand Bhadauria and Mohibullah Nadvi of the SP, M A Baby of the CPI(M), D Raja and P Sandosh Kumar of the CPI, AISA chief Neha Bora, Dipankar Bhattacharya of the CPI(ML) and Mahua Moitra of the TMC. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi, and party leaders K C Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Shashi Tharoor and Pawan Khera were also present.

Earlier, in a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, "I have invited the leaders of the INDIA bloc, opposition MPs, student organisations and civil society comrades to my home for tea. In this people's movement to protect democracy, we are all together -- and this movement will continue relentlessly." He added, "After tea, we will all come together and present our case in front of the media. All protests are one."

The meeting came a day after opposition leaders, activists and civil society members held a "March for Democracy" on a heavily barricaded route in Delhi and later moved the Supreme Court. Leaders of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, D Raja, M A Baby, Tejashwi Yadav and NCP-SCP leader Supriya Sule, among others, joined the march. Protesters breached one barricade on Bhagwan Dass Road but were stopped at a second one, following which top INDIA bloc leaders went to the apex court to file the petition.

The petition has made the Election Commission of India, the chief election commissioner and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi parties to it. The latest meeting at Gandhi's residence brought together opposition leaders and allied groups as they continued to coordinate their response to the electoral roll revision and the allegations linked to it.

- Ends