Vote Chori March: A fierce confrontation has arisen between the Opposition and the Government over the allegations of “vote chori” and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, all amidst the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
300 MPs To Protest outside the Election Commission
In an unprecedented move to pressure the Election Commission of India (ECI), over 300 Members of Parliament (MPs) from 25 opposition parties (including Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, DMK, AAP, Left parties, RJD, NCP, Shiv Sena-UBT, and the National Conference) are considering a protest march on August 11, 2025, from Makar Dwar to the ECI headquarters in New Delhi, led by Congress Leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
Opposition Demands Transparency on Electoral Fraud
The opposition coalition is demanding transparency from the Election Commission about alleged electoral fraud in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. They have also criticized the SIR underway in Bihar, claiming it is to disenfranchise voters in favour of the ruling BJP government.
Rahul Gandhi Accuses ECI and BJP of Voter Manipulation
Rahul Gandhi has accused the Election Commission and the BJP of massive voter fraud, particularly pointing to incidents of duplicate entries and invalid registrations. He referred to the issue as an assault on the fundamental principle of “one man, one vote,” and challenged the ECI to either provide evidence or apologize publicly, saying we must protect the principle of democracy.
The Election Commission Rejects Allegations and Issues Notice
Nevertheless, the Election Commission has firmly rejected any fraud allegations, noting that the evidence offered by Rahul Gandhi was not officially documented evidence, and included a case of a voter allegedly voting twice. The Election Commission issues a notice to Gandhi to provide evidence or apologize.
Delhi Police Denies Permission for protest march
As political tensions rise with Congress and members of the INDIA bloc holding rallies and planning further agitation, it was clearly surprising that despite the Vote Chori march being scheduled for 11:30 am, the Delhi police claimed not to have offered permission for the protest march, while noting that no formal request had been made to them, and warned that the march probably would not be allowed to proceed to the ECI because of traffic and security issues.
