New Delhi: What was meant to be a joint show of strength by the INDIA bloc against the Election Commission has left some allies feeling sidelined. On Tuesday, around 200 Opposition MPs gathered near Parliament’s Makar Dwar and marched towards the EC office demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protest was over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which the Opposition calls an attempt to delete genuine voters and tilt the field in favour of the ruling side.
Police stopped the march, detained many leaders and packed them into buses. Most thought the programme was over. Then Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra made a sudden move. They slipped past the cops into Akashvani Bhavan, the All India Radio headquarters next to the EC office, and sat down for hours. Other Congress leaders climbed the boundary wall and joined the slogans. The sit-in went on till late evening before police finally took them away. An FIR has been filed.
Congress sources call it an “impromptu” decision. Rahul had planned to cut through the complex and exit from the back gate, which opens right opposite the EC office. Police locked that gate, so the siblings and a few party leaders stayed put, demanding a meeting with the election commissioners. Even some senior Congress leaders later admitted they had no idea this was coming. “The Congress leaders didn’t know about the protest, so the allies also didn’t know,” one of them said.
That is exactly what has annoyed the allies. Voices from the INDIA bloc parties say a joint Opposition protest turned into a “Rahul Gandhi show.” While the Gandhi siblings held the cameras and the headlines, other leaders were being driven to different police stations. “Today’s protest was an INDIA bloc protest. But eventually it became a Congress and Rahul Gandhi protest,” one source put it bluntly.
Some senior leaders also questioned the demand for a meeting with the Election Commission itself. “Why would we meet the Election Commission when we are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar? If this had been discussed with the allies, we wouldn’t have agreed,” a Left MP said.
Congress is now in damage-control mode. Organisation general secretary KC Venugopal spoke to leaders of the other parties and told them the leadership “acted in the moment.” He expressed regret over the “mistrust” created because the allies were not kept in the loop. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge is hosting a lunch for INDIA bloc MPs, an attempt to smooth things over.
The protest itself was part of a larger campaign. The INDIA parties have three clear demands: Kumar’s resignation, cancellation of the ongoing SIR exercise, and a return to ballot paper instead of EVMs. Rahul Gandhi has called the SIR “treason” and accused the government of protecting “traitors of democracy.” After being detained, he posted that the authorities can stop a march or refuse a meeting, but they cannot stop the will of the people.
Not every ally was fully on board even before the sit-in. AAP and DMK stayed away from the march, though later statements from the DMK expressed some solidarity. Still, most of the 19 parties that attended the late-September INDIA meeting were represented. Akhilesh Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee, Sanjay Raut and Supriya Sule were among those seen walking together earlier in the day.
This is not the first time coordination has been an issue. Earlier this year there were similar complaints after a surprise Congress protest outside the Prime Minister’s residence. Rahul had then assured allies of better consultation. The same promise is being repeated now.
For Congress, the sit-in kept the protest alive when it looked like police had successfully wound it up. For the allies, it raised an old question: how joint is the joint Opposition really, when key decisions are taken without them?
The FIR and the police action have given the BJP fresh ammunition. Party leaders have called Rahul a “democracy wrecker” who creates anarchy because he cannot defeat the government electorally. The Opposition calls the FIR political intimidation and says peaceful protest is being criminalised.
Congress has already announced that 8 October will be observed as a “Black Day” with protests across the country. The message from the Gandhi siblings and the party is that the agitation will continue until their demands are met. Whether the allies remain fully on board, and whether the coordination improves, will decide how united that next phase looks.
The episode shows both the energy and the fault lines inside the INDIA bloc. A dramatic protest that grabbed national attention has also left some partners feeling they were used as backdrop. Congress is firefighting to repair the trust. The coming days will show if the apology is enough.
Sources:
The Indian Express (7 October 2026 report on allies’ unhappiness and Venugopal’s outreach; 6 October report on the impromptu move)
Outlook India
Sangbad Pratidin
Loksatta
Mathrubhumi
Jansatta
Patrika
Live Hindustan
The Hindu
NDTV
Times Now
Deccan Herald (earlier coordination issues)
@Rohit Manral
