INDIA Bloc Plans Delhi Protest March on October 12, to Submit Memorandum to Chief Justice

The Opposition INDIA bloc will hold a protest march in Delhi on Monday, October 12, 2026, over its allegations of irregularities in the electoral process — a charge the alliance has described as "vote chori", or vote theft. A delegation of senior alliance leaders will separately submit a memorandum to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, seeking judicial intervention in the matter.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the march would be joined by the Congress, other constituents of the INDIA bloc and young people from across the country, and that the alliance would meet the Chief Justice. Referring to the ongoing protests, he said that when "the Constitution is being torn to shreds on Delhi's streets", the guardians of the law cannot sit with blindfolds on. He added that the Opposition would not stay silent.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the party had appealed to "every Indian concerned about democracy's survival" to take part in what he described as a massive march against the "vote chori" he alleged was carried out by the Modi-Shah government. He said a meeting of alliance leaders had been held the previous day to prepare for the march, and that INDIA bloc MPs, leaders, workers and other citizens would participate. "Gyanesh must go. There will be no backing down," he said, referring to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The announcements followed a meeting between INDIA bloc leaders and President Droupadi Murmu, in which the delegation demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner and the repeal of all Assembly elections held in the past two years. Mr. Gandhi said after the meeting that he was "shocked" that the President did not deny the election theft allegation.

The alliance has been protesting since October 6, 2026, when Opposition MPs marched from Parliament to the Election Commission's office and were stopped on the way. Mr. Gandhi staged an eight-hour sit-in inside the Akashvani Bhawan complex that day. On October 7 and 8, Opposition MPs held a lunch in central Delhi and marched to Jantar Mantar and later to Rajghat, alleging that the Prime Minister, the Home Minister and the Chief Election Commissioner had "hijacked" the country through a conspiracy.

The intensification of the protest comes days after a report in The Indian Express highlighted internal differences within the poll body. According to the report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections at least 14 times in the last 10 months, including on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Last week, the INDIA bloc finalised a joint action plan on the SIR issue, which includes holding rallies and "save democracy" marches.

The Election Commission's response to the latest allegations was not available in the reports cited. The commission has in the past described the revision of electoral rolls as a routine exercise aimed at removing ineligible entries, and has said its decisions are taken collectively. The "vote chori" allegation made by the Opposition has not been independently verified.

The memorandum to the Chief Justice is expected to seek the court's intervention in what the alliance has called a crisis facing the electoral process. The union government has not issued a public statement on the proposed march or on the Opposition's demands.