Gandhi said the alleged “vote chori [theft]” is a people’s issue: A practical reader guide

The Congress on Monday (October 5, 2026) announced a series of nationwide campaigns against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged vote theft, using a slogan of ‘Vote bachao, desh bachao (Save your vote, save the country’.

The principal Opposition party will also reach out to other parties outside the INDIA bloc, like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the Aam Aadmi Party, and invite them to join the planned protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission of India on Tuesday (October 6) and a mega INDIA bloc rally in Delhi on November 1. The announcement was made after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a two-hour-long meeting of party general secretaries, State in-charges, and Pradesh Congress Committee chiefs at the Indira Bhawan here. Former Congress chief and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi was also present at the meeting. “[Gyanesh Kumar] is not leaving, even as the entire country wants him to be removed. We are not going to allow him to sit on the chair. We will ensure that he is removed,” he added. Mr.

Congress workers will reach out to more than 13.3 crore people whose names have been struck off the voters’ list during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls , and will try to get them re-enrolled with the help of “vote rakshaks [guardians]” at each polling booth. “The Election Commission has become the Cheating Commission of India,” Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said. Sources told The Hindu that, in the closed door meeting, Mr. Kharge said the Opposition party should “oust the CEC now”, but also cautioned that the ruling party may use distractions as “they [the BJP] know they have been caught out”. Gandhi said the alleged “vote chori [theft]” is a people’s issue and the party’s campaign should be designed in such a way that common people should participate in the programmes to protect their voting rights.