Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) batted for the pre-SIR electoral roll to be used for future elections and voting through ballots instead of EVMs, as he stressed on unity in the opposition INDIA bloc with a joint action plan. “The INDIA parties must stand together when the fundamental democratic right of citizens is at stake. We should therefore leave this meeting with a clear programme of action,” he said.
The parties participating in the ongoing meeting are the INC, SP, AITC, NCP(SP), SS (UBT), RJD, CPM, CPI, JKNC, JKPDP, JMM, CPI-ML, IUML, KC(M), MDMK, VCK, RSP, KC(J) and AIFB. “These and other Opposition parties stand united to protect the Constitution of India from repeated assaults of the Modi Govt - most recently its Vote Chori gameplan through the ECI to remain in power,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh wrote in a post on social media.
A series of hoardings taking potshots at Opposition leaders over their alleged contrasting positions on the Election Commission appeared in Delhi on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting. While the posters didn’t mention who put them up, the BJP separately criticised Rahul Gandhi, saying Opposition parties have started questioning his leadership even before the INDIA bloc meeting began.
