‘Vote Chori’ Row: INDIA Bloc Meets President Murmu, Demands EVMs Scrapped for Ballot Papers

The vote chori EVM controversy escalated on Friday evening as a 10-member INDIA bloc delegation met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and submitted a memorandum alleging large-scale “vote theft,” demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a return to ballot-paper voting instead of Electronic Voting Machines.

The delegation comprised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, NCP(SP) MP Supriya Sule, SP’s Rajeev Rai, RJD’s Manoj Jha, VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby and CPI’s D. Raja. The memorandum flagged alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

President Seeks Proof of ‘Vote Chori’

Speaking after the meeting, Kharge said the opposition apprised the President of its four-day-old agitation over alleged electoral irregularities and the role of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. President Murmu, he said, sought evidence to substantiate the allegations — and the opposition is compiling the material for submission.

“We demanded that EVMs be set aside and elections be conducted using ballot papers. She asked for evidence regarding the instances of vote theft; we are currently compiling this evidence and will submit it,” Kharge said. The development comes as the capital remains on edge over the CJP’s Jantar Mantar protest on the same SIR issue, where Abhijeet Dipke was detained at Delhi airport on Saturday morning.

Rahul Gandhi: “Shocked” President Didn’t Deny Charge

Rahul Gandhi told reporters he was “shocked and stunned” that the President did not deny the opposition’s charge. “In that memorandum, we clearly stated that the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, and CEC Gyanesh Kumar had conspired to destroy Indian democracy. The President in no way denied what we said, questioned what we said, or argued what we said. She accepted our statement and then told us that we needed to provide her with proof,” Gandhi said.

He alleged that elections had been “stolen” in state after state and that the 2024 general election had also been compromised, adding that the opposition would hand over its evidence when the President was ready to receive it. Gandhi also said opposition leaders would meet Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday with a memorandum.

‘Save Democracy’ March Stopped at Vijay Chowk

Earlier on Friday, INDIA bloc MPs carrying a big “Save Democracy” banner marched from Parliament House to Vijay Chowk, where police put up barricades and stopped them. Only the delegation members whose names had been sent to Rashtrapati Bhavan proceeded to meet the President.

The memorandum marks the opposition’s most direct institutional escalation of the ‘vote chori’ campaign — taking the fight from rallies and press conferences to the President’s office and, next, the Chief Justice. With the bypoll results now declared, the battle over the credibility of the electoral process is set to dominate the coming week.

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