A 10-member INDIA bloc delegation met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday, 9 October 2026, demanding the dismissal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and a return to paper ballots — as Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi said President Murmu asked the delegation to furnish evidence of its 'vote chori' (vote theft) allegations.

The delegation was led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and included All India Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee. The Opposition submitted a formal memorandum alleging widespread electoral irregularities and claiming the country's democratic framework was under threat.

Who Was in the Delegation

Beyond Kharge, Gandhi and Banerjee, the delegation comprised Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference Vice-President Omar Abdullah, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule, CPI-M General Secretary M.A. Baby, RJD Rajya Sabha member Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI General Secretary D. Raja, Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai, and VCK President and MP Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan. The Opposition said its parliamentary parties collectively represent more than 60 per cent of the country's population.

What the Memorandum Demands

The four-point memorandum placed before the President called for: the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and repeal of a 2023 law that the Opposition alleges grants lifelong immunity to the CEC and Election Commissioners; immediate suspension of the SIR and restoration of the 13.30 crore voters the Opposition claims were illegally removed from electoral rolls; a return to paper ballots replacing the current EVM-based system; and the setting aside of Assembly elections held over the preceding two years in which, according to the memorandum, conclusive evidence of vote theft had been presented.

The memorandum alleged that elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Delhi, and West Bengal had been 'stolen', citing alleged large-scale manipulation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and electoral rolls. It also accused the CEC of misleading the Supreme Court to conceal alleged electoral wrongdoing.

What Rahul Gandhi Said After the Meeting

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said: 'I sat in quite an unbelievable meeting. First, we took a memorandum to the President of India. In that memorandum, we clearly stated that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and CEC Gyanesh Kumar had conspired to destroy Indian democracy.'

Gandhi claimed President Murmu neither denied nor contested the delegation's statements. 'She accepted our statement and then told us that we needed to provide her with proof of "election chori,"' he said. He described the meeting as satisfactory and announced that the Opposition would approach the Supreme Court on 12 October with a memorandum addressed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.

Reactions From Other Leaders

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said President Murmu had listened to the delegation patiently and that the INDIA bloc leaders had apprised her of the agitation launched four days earlier over alleged vote theft and concerns about the Election Commission's functioning. Mamata Banerjee said the President had indicated she would examine the memorandum and wanted supporting evidence. 'She has asked us to send evidence, which we said we will do,' Banerjee said, adding that the country was concerned about the state of democracy.

This comes amid several days of Opposition protests against the Election Commission and the SIR exercise. The Opposition's constitutional argument centres on Article 326 of the Constitution, which enshrines the right to vote, asserting that the Election Commission, as its constitutional custodian, must be held accountable for its decisions. All demands remain unaddressed by the government or the Election Commission as of the delegation's meeting. The next move, according to Gandhi, will come at the Supreme Court on 12 October.