New Delhi: The Congress party mounted a fierce offensive against alleged electoral malpractice on Sunday, with its top leadership converging at Delhi’s historic Ramlila Maidan for the “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” rally.
The event, billed as a mass protest against “vote chori” (vote theft), saw Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Sachin Pilot and other senior leaders address thousands of supporters.
Former party chief Sonia Gandhi was also present.
Rahul Gandhi, leading the charge, accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of colluding with the BJP to manipulate electoral rolls and shield irregularities. Naming Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, Gandhi alleged they were “working for the BJP.”
“We will stand with satya (truth) and will remove the Narendra Modi-RSS government from power. They have satta (power), and they indulge in vote chori,” Gandhi declared, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.
He further claimed that the BJP distributed Rs 10,000 during elections without facing any action from the poll panel. “In this fight between truth and untruth, the Election Commission is working with the BJP government,” he said.
“…Listen to RSS Chief Dr Mohan Bhagwat’s statement, the world doesn’t look at truth, it looks at power. Whoever has power is respected. This is Mohan Bhagwat’s thinking. This ideology belongs to the RSS. Our ideology, the ideology of India, the ideology of Hinduism, the ideology of every religion in the world, says that truth is the most important thing. Mohan Bhagwat says truth is meaningless, power is important…I guarantee you from this stage, you will see, by upholding the truth, by standing behind the truth, we will remove Narendra Modi and Amit Shah, the RSS government from India.”
The rally marks the Congress’s most significant push in the national capital on its “vote chori” campaign, which gained traction during Gandhi’s “Voter Adhikar Yatra” in Bihar earlier this year.
Despite a poor showing in the Bihar Assembly elections — winning only six of the 61 seats contested — the party has persisted with the slogan “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod,” hoping to transform it into a mass movement.
Since announcing the rally on November 18, the Congress has mobilised leaders across states, setting up a control room at its Akbar Road headquarters and coordinating turnout from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Punjab and beyond.
Party insiders say Gandhi views the issue as central to democracy itself, and intends to keep the spotlight on alleged “electoral fraud.”
Gandhi has previously held three press conferences presenting what he called “evidence of vote chori” in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana. He accused the ECI of presiding over inflated voter rolls and permitting fake votes, charges the Commission has dismissed as “incorrect and baseless.” This time, the Congress chose to go solo, without the INDIA bloc allies, citing uncertainty after the Bihar debacle.
Senior leaders insist the campaign is far from over, with upcoming elections in Assam, Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu seen as crucial tests of its resonance.
“Rahul Gandhi believes this fight is about the most basic element of democracy — voting. He will continue his offensive against the EC and the BJP. We hope for an awakening of the masses on this issue,” said a senior Congress leader.
Whether the “vote chori” campaign can galvanise public opinion beyond party loyalists remains to be seen, but Sunday’s rally underscored Gandhi’s determination to keep the issue alive as the Congress eyes critical state polls in 2026.
(IANS)
