India · New Delhi
Congress Plans Nationwide Campaign to Re-enrol Deleted Voters
In brief
The Congress party on Monday announced a nationwide “Vote bachao, desh bachao” (save your vote, save the country) campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner, including a drive to help people struck off voter lists during the SIR get back on.
The plan was announced after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge chaired a meeting of senior party leaders in New Delhi, attended by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, The Hindu reported. Party workers acting as booth-level “vote rakshaks” (guardians) will try to identify voters who were removed and help them re-register. Congress says the number of names struck off runs to more than 13.3 crore.
The schedule includes block-level marches from October 10 to 20 ending at sub-divisional magistrates’ offices, meetings in villages, a protest march from Parliament to the Election Commission on October 6, an INDIA bloc rally in Delhi on November 1, and marches from Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh ending in Delhi on November 26, Constitution Day. The party said it would also invite parties outside the INDIA bloc, such as the DMK and AAP.
Congress leaders repeated their demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar be removed. The Election Commission has said the revision is meant to clean rolls of duplicate, dead and ineligible names.
Why it matters
Re-enrolment drives can make a real difference to who is able to vote in coming elections. The campaign also signals that the voter-roll dispute will remain a central political issue for months.
Sources
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