New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge hosted a dinner for the INDIA bloc MPs on Monday at the Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi, bringing together prominent opposition leaders, including Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Jaya Bachchan, K Kanimozhi, Sanjay Raut, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. The gathering came amid the opposition’s concerted effort to unite against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged poll rigging described by leaders as the “vote chori model.”

This dinner followed a recent meeting at Rahul Gandhi’s residence, the first physical gathering of top opposition leaders since June 2024. During that session, Rahul Gandhi presented what he claimed was evidence of the BJP and the Election Commission manipulating electoral rolls to sway election results — allegations that have since become central to the INDIA bloc’s campaign.

Earlier on Monday, opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, and Pawar, took out a protest march from Parliament House to the Election Commission office against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. They argued that the SIR process could disenfranchise voters through excessive documentation requirements. Police stopped the march near the PTI building by erecting barricades, leading to a standoff. Many MPs sat on the road raising slogans, while some women parliamentarians climbed the barricades. The police then detained the MPs briefly before releasing them.

Protesters wore white caps with a red cross on the words "SIR" and "vote chori" as they voiced their opposition. The INDIA bloc insists that the process undermines free and fair elections and could disproportionately affect vulnerable populations in Bihar.

While most attendees at the dinner were from the INDIA bloc, Sanjay Singh and Sandeep Pathak from the Aam Aadmi Party also joined, even though their party is not officially part of the coalition. The gathering underscored the broader opposition effort to present a united front for electoral transparency and to challenge what they allege is systematic voter suppression.

The bloc plans to continue with public outreach, protests, and strategy meetings in the coming weeks to maintain pressure ahead of upcoming elections.

With inputs from PTI