By Rahil Nora Chopra
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi stole the spotlight with a display of athleticism, seamless climbing over a police barricade during the Opposition MPs’ march to the Election Commission headquarters. Dressed in his trademark white collared T-shirt, Rahul stood atop the barricade, waving the Tricolour in the face of Delhi police. Hundreds of Congress workers stood behind him chanting “Gyanesh Kumar ko arrest karo, Pradhan Mantri istifa do”, turning the moment into something that looked like a any famous unforgettable scene from a Bollywood blockbuster. Gandhi, who has been leading the protests against alleged vote chori, has made it clear that this will not cease till Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resigns over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Congress and INDIA bloc would continue to take to the streets, face arrests and legal cases to save the Constitution and democracy, Gandhi has said.
UP CONGRESS’ SMALLER PARTY OUTREACH POSES A CHALLENGE FOR AKHILESH
Ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election, the Congress has geared up to draw interest from smaller Opposition parties and thus put immense pressure on Samajwadi Party for a bigger share of seats. Apni Janta Party’s Swami Prasad Maurya, Sanjay Chauhan, who heads a party representing the OBC Chauhan community, and Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) leader Pankaj Niranjan — have all interacted with Rahul Gandhi, fuelling intense speculation that they might soon join hands with the Congress. The meetings come as Uttar Pradesh Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam sought “equal respect and an equal share” in seat-sharing with the SP. For the Congress, which has just two MLAs but won six Lok Sabha seats in 2024, the negotiations are also about securing much space to rebuild itself in a state it once dominated. According to sources, Akhilesh Yadav was not keen to allocate more than 60 seats to the Congress, but the Congress is demanding 100-plus seats. Now Akhilesh Yadav has a stiff challenge ahead to reach a consensus on seat-sharing with Congress, and agree on a common minimum programme. As for seat-sharing, the final decision will be made through direct communication between Akhilesh Yadav and Rahul Gandhi. While there will undoubtedly be some bargaining over the number of seats, leaders from both parties remain optimistic that a mutually acceptable solution will be attained.
YOGI PROJECTS ‘80 VS 20’ FORMULA TO COUNTER AKHILESH’S PDA PITCH
Political activity in Uttar Pradesh is intensifying again. UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has revived his controversial “80 versus 20” pitch ahead of the upcoming assembly elections, citing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielding eight candidates against the Samajwadi Party’s two for 10 Rajya Sabha seats as proof that 80% of the electorate backs the ruling alliance, leaving only 20% for the Opposition. “The battle has once again highlighted as an ‘80 vs. 20’ contest, with 80% belonging to the National Democratic Alliance and 20% to the PDA. The destiny of the PDA will become clear,” Adityanath said at an event to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years in public service and as the head of government. SP president Akhilesh Yadav reciprocated to Yogi’s remarks and he then wrote on X. “Truth is that the balance has been disturbed due to the defeat in the 2024 elections, that is why such unbalanced statements are coming. Threatening the PDA in a 5-second confession will not leave the BJP in a position to raise their heads and look into the eyes for not only 5 decades or 5 centuries but their 5 births,” The SP chief first floated the abbreviation PDA—Pichhda, Dalit, Alpsankhyak (backward classes, Dalits, and minorities)—in June 2023. The formulation was emphasized as the SP’s social coalition against the BJP-led NDA, with Akhilesh repeatedly claiming, “PDA hi NDA ko harayega (it is the PDA that will defeat the NDA)”. Meanwhile, Akhilesh Yadav has also challenged Yogi Adityanath to contest the upcoming assembly elections from Ayodhya, adding he would soon visit the Ram temple for darshan with party leaders. Yadav was addressing a gathering at a Shrimad Bhagwat Katha organised by SP leader and the party’s Ayodhya candidate Tej Narayan Pandey alias Pawan Pandey.
DMK SUPPORTS INDIA BLOC AGITATION AGAINST CEC-LED SIR, WITH CAVEATS
The Shiv Sena (UBT) urged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to put aside their grudges with the Congress and join the opposition’s campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The DMK has backed the Rahul Gandhi-led INDIA Bloc protest demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation while questioning why the Congress leaders meek on deletions in Tamil Nadu under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in the lead up to 2026 Assembly Elections. DMK leader TKS Elangovan defended the Lok Sabha LoP’s agitation over the SIR-CEC issue in Delhi, saying the government does not like him to protest because it aspires to govern the country according to its wishes and not in accordance to the law. Meanwhile, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai cited a media report on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to question why Gandhi, who has forcefully raised allegations of electoral manipulation elsewhere, had not spoken on same lines about Tamil Nadu. The apparent contradiction is partly explained by the political rearrangement since Tamil Nadu’s April election. The DMK subsequently left the Congress-led INDIA bloc. The TVK now governs with support from Congress and other smaller parties. (IPA Service)
