A fresh attempt to forge a united Opposition front over the Election Commission is taking shape in New Delhi, with INDIA bloc parties likely to meet on September 30 amid escalating differences over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The proposed meeting comes at a politically significant moment, with Opposition parties intensifying their criticism of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and working towards a coordinated response to developments surrounding the poll panel and the SIR exercise.

At the heart of the meeting will be the Opposition's concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the SIR process and reported differences among the poll body's members.

The discussions are also expected to cover the Opposition's proposed fresh removal notice against Kumar, which could be submitted in both Houses of Parliament after legal experts vet the draft.

This would be the third such attempt by the Opposition to seek Kumar's removal.

Which parties are joining hands?

The developments have brought several INDIA bloc constituents together, including parties that remain bitter political rivals in their respective states.

The Congress, CPI(M), CPI, CPI(ML)-Liberation and Trinamool Congress (TMC) are among the parties coordinating over the issue.

The coming together of the TMC and CPI(M) is particularly significant in the context of West Bengal, where the two parties are fierce political opponents.

However, concerns surrounding the Election Commission and SIR have brought them onto the same platform on this issue.

CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby had written to INDIA bloc and other Opposition leaders seeking a meeting over the developments.

He subsequently spoke to former West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, who agreed that the situation warranted a coordinated response.

The Left parties have already taken a clear position. The CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation have demanded Kumar's removal and called for an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. The Congress, meanwhile, has sharpened its criticism of the CEC.

The Congress Working Committee is also scheduled to meet in New Delhi on September 29, a day before the proposed INDIA bloc meeting, to discuss the party's strategy on the issue.

Why has the ECI row intensified?

The Opposition's latest mobilisation follows an Indian Express report which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions and orders relating to the SIR exercise.

According to the report, the objections over 10 months concerned issues including changes to Form 6, additions and deletions from electoral rolls and the centralised control of electoral-roll data.

The reported differences have added another layer to the political confrontation, with Opposition parties using them to press their case for greater scrutiny of the Election Commission's functioning.

The ECI, however, has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections indicate institutional dissent.

It has maintained that differing views, observations, operational queries, internal feedback and administrative suggestions are part of normal deliberations within a multi-member constitutional body.

The poll panel has also asserted that its orders have full legal sanction, follow statutory procedures, and that the decisions concerning SIR were unanimous.

Protests add pressure

The political confrontation has also spilled onto the streets, with Congress workers staging demonstrations in several parts of the country demanding the resignation and removal of Kumar.

Protests were reported in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Manipur and West Bengal, among other places, following a directive from the All India Congress Committee to state units to march to Election Commission offices.

In Assam, Congress state president Gaurav Gogoi was detained during a protest in Guwahati.

In Manipur, police fired tear gas shells after a Congress demonstration turned confrontational, according to PTI.

Congress MLAs also protested against Kumar inside the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, while demonstrations were held in Dehradun, Lucknow, Chandigarh and Kolkata.

In Karnataka, the Pradesh Congress Committee filed a police complaint against Kumar and BJP MLA Abhay Patil, seeking legal action over alleged violations of voting rights and alleged manipulation of electoral rolls.

The BJP has rejected the Congress' allegations. BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi defended the SIR exercise as legally sound and said the Election Commission's decisions were based on majority consensus.

With the Congress set to discuss its strategy on September 29 and INDIA bloc parties likely to sit together on September 30, the Opposition's next move could centre on how far its parties can coordinate their response to the ECI and the SIR controversy.