Rahul Gandhi and Opposition Leaders Meet President Murmu Over Alleged Vote Theft

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several opposition leaders from the INDIA bloc met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on October 9, 2026. The delegation submitted a memorandum raising concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission of India and alleged irregularities in the electoral process.

The delegation included Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and other opposition representatives. Their meeting came amid protests demanding accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The opposition leaders alleged that the voter-list revision process had resulted in the removal of large numbers of names from electoral rolls. They sought the President’s intervention and demanded action against Gyanesh Kumar. These claims represent the opposition’s allegations and should not be treated as independently established electoral fraud.

After the meeting, Rahul Gandhi told reporters that President Murmu had asked the delegation to provide evidence supporting its allegations of “vote chori.” He said the opposition was prepared to present the material it had collected. The President’s request for evidence does not establish the truth of the allegations.

The opposition also called for electoral reforms, including a return to ballot-paper voting, and urged action over its concerns about the Election Commission. The meeting marks another development in the political dispute over voter-list revisions and the conduct of elections, with the opposition seeking further intervention from constitutional authorities.