Editorial: INDIA ramps up pressure on ECI

NEW DELHI: The continuing display of strength and unity within the opposition INDIA bloc has gained momentum following explosive, scandalous revelations regarding the Election Commission’s bungling of the nationwide Special Intensive Revision. The opposition protest in New Delhi demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation was aimed at sending a strong message to the government while giving impetus to growing, youth-driven popular resistance.

Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi appears to be ramping up pressure in a strategically calibrated manner, recognising that this could turn into a long-drawn-out battle. This approach is evident in the announcement of a nationwide, bottom-up grassroots campaign spread over a month. Instead of focusing on a single mega sit-in at a strategic venue, the Congress party’s plan encompasses village-level chaupals as well as block-level and district-level “save democracy” marches.

The broader strategy seems aimed at utilising this opportunity to rebuild the party organisation and activate booth-level cadres designated as “vote rakshaks”. The party plans to deploy these grassroots workers to identify and engage voters whose names were improperly deleted from electoral rolls.

Such unlawful deletions will likely provide concrete evidence to expose the scale of electoral roll manipulation and irregularities. This, in turn, buttresses their argument that elections are stolen, thereby stripping the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and in the States of its legitimacy. Ultimately, the Congress narrative extends well beyond demanding the resignation of the CEC, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah by framing them as the true masterminds and ultimate beneficiaries of these systemic voter list manipulations.

For a long time, INDIA bloc parties were pulling in different directions, and among several constituent parties there was perceptible reluctance to accept the Congress party’s central lead role in the alliance. However, devastating electoral defeats and engineered splits left them no option but to fall in line, at least for now. Although the alliance lost a prominent and loyal member like the DMK, it gained TVK as a new member, despite its possible political inexperience and ambivalence.

The participation of the Biju Janata Dal in these INDIA bloc protests has not gone unnoticed and serves as a clear sign of the times. For several years, the party claimed to maintain equidistance between rival political coalitions, yet it consistently leaned towards the NDA and saved it during the passage of controversial bills in Parliament. Nevertheless, the BJP has been unsparing toward its former tacit supporter, launching a scathing attack instead.

Consequently, the BJD felt compelled to issue a long-winded clarification emphasising that its involvement was strictly limited to defending democratic institutions and electoral integrity, and did not signify that it had formally joined the opposition alliance.

The Congress has to deal with two major challenges. First, it must manage a non-antagonistic relationship with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which could either boost the Opposition’s electoral chances or undermine them. Many vociferous Congress supporters on social media, if not leaders in responsible positions, remain wary of the CJP, perceiving it as a reincarnation of India Against Corruption. Secondly, can the opposition sustain this protest movement until the government blinks? These unprecedented protests have politically discredited the ruling establishment. With the loss of narrative control and the dismantling of its regime of fear, the once-invincible party now faces a Hobson’s choice.