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Congress Takes Center Stage in High-Stakes Protests Against Election Commission
M
Moneycontrol•08-10-2026, 16:03
Congress Takes Center Stage in High-Stakes Protests Against Election Commission
- •Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have placed themselves at the forefront of street protests in New Delhi, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter-list irregularities.
- •The current agitation stems from Rahul Gandhi's long-running vote chori campaign, which alleges widespread electoral manipulation and compromised transparency in voter rolls.
- •Unlike previous youth-led agitations where parties played a secondary role, Congress has aggressively seized political ownership of the current movement ahead of upcoming assembly elections.
- •The Election Commission has repeatedly rejected all allegations of large-scale voter deletion and electoral manipulation, challenging the opposition to substantiate their claims.
- •With the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party planning a separate protest on October 10, Congress is actively working to ensure the political narrative remains firmly under its control.
Key Questions Answered
The protests were sparked by allegations of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with opposition parties demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Rahul Gandhi began building his campaign against the Election Commission in August 2025, alleging that the 2024 elections had been compromised following evidence of electoral manipulation in Karnataka and Maharashtra.
While the earlier anti-Pradhan agitation was driven largely by grassroots youth groups like the Cockroach Janta Party, the current protests have been fronted directly by top Congress leadership including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.
