The Opposition INDIA bloc on Wednesday stepped up its confrontation with the Election Commission, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and announcing a nationwide programme of protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The meeting, held at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, brought together leaders from the Congress, Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, NCP (SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD, JMM, National Conference, PDP and several other Opposition parties. The DMK and Aam Aadmi Party did not attend the meeting. The DMK, however, has indicated that it would support an Opposition move in Parliament seeking Kumar’s removal.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee were among those present. Leaders from the SP, CPI, CPI(M), NCP (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) also attended. The Samajwadi Party was represented as Akhilesh Yadav stayed away because of the ongoing Rajya Sabha nomination process in Uttar Pradesh. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray joined virtually.
The INDIA bloc called for the use of the pre-SIR electoral roll in future elections and demanded complete transparency in all electoral-roll revisions, including constituency- and booth-wise data on additions, deletions and corrections. It also sought prior notice, reasons and an effective appeal mechanism before any voter is removed, along with safeguards to ensure eligible voters are not excluded because of administrative failures, inadequate documentation or lack of awareness.
The bloc further demanded a return to ballot-paper voting instead of EVMs and called for greater institutional accountability from the Election Commission. As part of its campaign, the Opposition parties also announced a joint march to the Election Commission on October 6, a nationwide “Save Democracy” campaign from October 2 to 8, and a larger rally in Delhi on November 1.
Speaking after the meeting, Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of undermining the Election Commission and said the Opposition would continue its campaign. “The ECI is being played like puppets by Modi and Shah,” Kharge said. He also reiterated the demand for ballot voting, saying: “The ballot belongs to the people, and the mandate belongs to the people.”
Mamata Banerjee again demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and alleged that the electoral process in Bengal had been compromised. “They looted in Bengal. We went to ECI and the Supreme Court. Now everything is out in the open. Gyanesh Kumar is a thief. He burnt EVMs. He must resign immediately. Let’s save democracy,” Banerjee said. She added, “If Gyanesh Kumar is not removed then this movement will reach the sky from the ground.”
Rahul Gandhi said the Opposition parties had agreed that the country’s democratic system was under attack. “All parties opined that Indian democratic system has been attacked by Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Gyanesh. We will ensure people who have destroyed Indian democracy are punished,” Gandhi said.
The Opposition’s campaign against Gyanesh Kumar intensified after an investigation by The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a period of 10 months to decisions and orders relating to the SIR exercise.
The reported objections covered issues including the enrolment of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, changes to Form 6 and access to the electoral-roll database. The two commissioners had also questioned whether certain decisions were taken without their knowledge or recommendation. The controversy has since widened into a dispute over the functioning of the three-member Election Commission.
The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of an institutional split, maintaining that differences of opinion are part of internal deliberations. Following a September 26 meeting, it said decisions relating to SIR had received the “unanimous approval of the Commission” and that its orders had full legal sanction.
The SIR exercise itself has become a major political flashpoint, with Opposition parties questioning the deletion and verification of voters and demanding greater transparency in the revision process. The Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that SIR is a lawful exercise aimed at identifying and removing ineligible entries while ensuring eligible voters remain on the rolls.
The INDIA bloc last met on June 8, 2026, also at the Constitution Club in New Delhi. At that meeting, the Opposition parties agreed to seek the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-CBSE controversy and decided to write to the Chief Justice of India over SIR and what they described as “vote loot”. Wednesday’s meeting therefore comes nearly four months later, with the Election Commission and the future of the electoral-roll revision process now at the centre of the Opposition’s campaign.
