New Delhi: As the INDIA bloc is scheduled to meet in New Delhi on Wednesday to formulate a common strategy against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, posters accusing opposition leaders of “doglapan (double standards)” over the Election Commission of India (ECI) have surfaced around the Constitution Club. The Opposition bloc is scheduled to meet to discuss the strategy demanding accountability over alleged poll impropriety; questions remain over the bloc’s cohesiveness and its apparent objectives on the issue. One of the posters read, “When the answer changes with the scoreboard. Peak celebration every time they win, vote chori allegation every time they lose. ECI right or wrong? It just depends on whether they’re the winner.”
The posters featured photos of Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Trinamool Congress President Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, DMK supremo M. K. Stalin, Congress social media chairperson Supriya Shrinate, Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee, and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury. A poster showing Akhilesh Yadav’s statement appreciating the ECI when his party won the elections in 2017, in contrast to him criticising the poll body when the SP lost in 2022. “How convenient, pookie!” read the poster.
Another poster, featuring Rahul Gandhi with luggage, read, “Videshi dharti par masti mei the chur, 59 din Bihar campaign se rahe door. Lekin jab janata ne natija sunaya, to sawal ECI par uthaya. Aaye der se, ilzaam ghadi par.” This is roughly translated into English as, “Overjoyed on foreign soil, he stayed away from the Bihar campaign for 59 days. But when the public announced the results, he questioned the Election Commission. He arrived late, and the blame fell on the clock.”
“INDI Alliance ka doglapan. Jeete to ECI ko taali, hare to ECI ko gaali,” read another poster. The INDIA bloc meeting comes even as leaders within the Opposition ranks have acknowledged that the bloc does not have the required numbers in Parliament to remove the CEC. However, Opposition parties intend to demonstrate unity over what they describe as a challenge to the electoral process’s integrity and transparency.
The meeting comes a day after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) adopted a strong resolution demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, and restoration of voters allegedly removed from electoral rolls. Congress leaders have said they will raise the issues discussed at the CWC meeting before the broader Opposition platform.
Given its political history and the numerical realities in both Houses of Parliament, Wednesday’s meeting may prove another difficult test for the Opposition bloc. The bloc failed to unseat the NDA at the Centre and has since suffered setbacks in several states, while one of the original movers of Opposition unity, Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, remains firmly aligned with the BJP.