Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Nov 25: The Congress has decided to go solo for its December 14 mega rally at Ramlila Maidan against what it describes as the Election Commission of India’s “vote theft”, with INDIA bloc partners confirming they will not participate. Senior leaders clarified that the protest will be “a purely Congress affair”, a decision sealed during last week’s AICC review meeting.
According to top Congress sources, the rally is intended to underline that the party has been at the forefront of raising alarm over alleged electoral irregularities and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.
“We have been campaigning on this issue for months and collected five crore signatures against ‘vote chori’. This protest is our initiative, and the entire organisational machinery has been mobilised,” a senior Congress leader said. State units have been instructed to bring large contingents of workers, especially from constituencies where complaints of irregularities have surfaced.
The decision crystallised during a crucial AICC review meeting chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, attended by Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretaries, state chiefs and CLP leaders from 12 states and UTs currently undergoing the SIR exercise. These include Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
Among these, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal head to the polls in 2026, intensifying concerns about the integrity of the voter list. The second phase of the SIR began on November 4 and will continue until December 4.
The Congress has accused the EC of functioning as a “blatantly partisan player”, claiming the SIR is being conducted in a rushed and opaque manner that undermines the level-playing field promised in the Constitution. Opposition-ruled states Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Kerala have already escalated the matter legally.
Despite being a central pillar of the INDIA bloc, the Congress has so far avoided holding joint meetings or framing a shared strategy with alliance partners on the SIR issue. This solo rally marks a continuation of that approach.
On Sunday, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi sharpened his attack, connecting the SIR process to the deaths of 16 Booth Level Officers over three weeks. Gandhi alleged that the Election Commission’s “paperwork-heavy and coercive” process is a deliberate ploy to burden citizens and pave the way for voter fraud.
As December 14 approaches, the Congress is positioning the rally as a major show of strength, asserting its commitment to safeguarding democratic processes — even if it means marching without its INDIA bloc allies.