A delegation of leaders from the opposition INDIA bloc met with President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, October 9, 2026, to formally request the repeal of Assembly elections held across several states over the past two years. The memorandum presented to the President alleges that there is “incontrovertible proof” of large-scale “vote theft” occurring in recent polls conducted in Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Delhi, and West Bengal.
During the meeting, the opposition representatives—which included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, West Bengal’s former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah—demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The memorandum also called for the suspension of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which the bloc claims resulted in the illegal deletion of 13.30 crore voters. Furthermore, the alliance is advocating for the abandonment of electronic voting machines in favor of a return to paper ballots.
Prior to the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, addressed fellow opposition leaders at the Samvidhan Sadan. Mr. Gandhi claimed that the government is under significant pressure and suggested that sustained campaigning by the opposition could potentially topple the current administration before the end of its term. He also asserted that the President did not deny or question the allegations of vote theft when they were presented to her.
The INDIA bloc plans to continue its push for electoral accountability by meeting with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday, October 12. In addition to their specific demands regarding recent elections, the group is calling for the repeal of the 2023 law that grants life-long immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners. Following the meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan, some leaders who were unable to join the primary delegation staged a sit-in protest.
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