Opposition closes ranks against EC, plans nationwide 'Save Democracy' campaign

New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- Putting forth a united front at the INDIA bloc meeting here on Wednesday, opposition leaders called for taking the fight over the Election Commission and electoral rolls to the ground and involving civil society.

The meeting was marked by consensus, while the mood remained upbeat over the political fight ahead. They also discussed a joint legal challenge to the law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners, sources said.

Leaders agreed that a clear schedule of protests and programmes must now be chalked out and momentum built to mount pressure on the Election Commission. INDIA bloc said a nationwide mass mobilisation would be launched against alleged 'vote chori' and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The decision was taken at a meeting attended by 20 parties, including the Congress, SP, TMC, NCP(SP), Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD, CPI(M), CPI and JKNC. Uddhav Thackeray and Hemant Soren joined virtually.

Under the plan, 'Save Democracy' marches will be held in every district from October 2 to 8, followed by a march of Opposition MPs from both Houses to the ECI headquarters on October 6. The leaders will seek an appointment with the President in the second week of October and hold five rallies across the country in October-November, the first in Delhi on November 1.

A senior leader said the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi elaborated upon how the Opposition had been raising the issue from the beginning.

"This is not an ordinary fight. We have to fight unitedly for the survival of democracy," the leader quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying. However, Gandhi also acknowledged that political dynamics change at the state level.

The discussions ranged from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged irregularities in elections to EVMs, with leaders sharing their experiences and stressing the need for the opposition parties to work together on the issue.

Rahul Gandhi stressed the need for collective action, telling the meeting that all opposition parties were "equal sufferers" and should focus on the collective fight, the sources said.

He also told the leaders that they should "walk this path together" and that someday people would remember them as those who had stood together to save democracy.

In his remarks, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge recounted his own electoral experience, telling the meeting how he had been "conned" in his own election despite having won several elections earlier, the sources said.

Kharge, the Rajya Sabha LoP, alleged that around 1.9 lakh voters had been removed from his constituency when he lost the Lok Sabha election from Gulbarga in 2019, his first electoral loss in decades of political career. The allegation could not be independently verified.

TMC chief and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made a forceful intervention on the functioning of the Election Commission and the electoral process, questioning the manner in which the poll body was handling voter registration and the SIR exercise, the sources said.

She also referred to the situation in the state, raising the issue of violence, including incidents involving Jadavpur University, the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute and educational institutions, the sources said.

At another point, she attacked CEC Kumar, referring to him as "Vanish Kumar".

Banerjee also said she had spoken to BJD leader Naveen Patnaik, as leaders discussed the need to keep parties outside the INDIA bloc engaged with the wider campaign on electoral issues, the sources said.

Senior advocate and independent Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal suggested that opposition parties jointly approach the Supreme Court challenging the 2023 law governing the appointment of the CEC and election commissioners, a proposal backed by Banerjee, the sources said.

Sibal told the meeting that the CEC enjoyed legal immunity under the law and argued that those responsible or involved in any wrongdoing could be proceeded against, an opposition leader said.

The need for a political fight to be accompanied by mobilisation on the ground also figured prominently in the discussions. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby stressed the need to involve civil society in the campaign.

"This is a fight against the RSS. Don't forget that. Civil society will have to be involved," Baby said, according to the sources.

RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav spoke about the Bihar election, saying that he and Rahul Gandhi had received a good response while campaigning but were nevertheless "looted", drawing a parallel with the experience of the TMC in West Bengal.

CPI (ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya spoke about the need to bring young people into the political and electoral process and raised the issue of reducing the voting age to 16 years, from the present 18 years.

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah warned that continued questions over the electoral process could undermine people's faith in elections.

Several leaders also spoke in favour of returning to paper ballots, which Kharge later announced at a joint press conference with other INDIA bloc leaders.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, who participated online, criticised the Election Commission and questioned the description of bypolls as being of lesser significance, the sources said.

Thackeray said the poll panel's role appeared to have become one of "looting elections and breaking parties" and said that after his party, the TMC was now facing a similar situation.

Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM chief Hemant Soren also joined the meeting online and said he was on board over the issue.

During the meeting, the bonhomie between Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee was palpable.

The two veteran leaders sat together during the three-and-a-half-hour meeting at the Constitution Club and then at the press conference, Banerjee was seen urging Gandhi to sit next to Kharge in the centre. Banerjee then sat next to Gandhi.

Bonhomie was on full display as Banerjee addressed the presser. Sonia Gandhi was seen nodding in agreement as Banerjee called for Gyanesh Kumar's removal.

Gandhi also thumped the desk as Banerjee vowed - "We will fight; we will win; we will work to restore democracy; and we will protect the Constitution."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.