Rahul urges farmers, students to join ‘Chalo Delhi’ on Nov 1

Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, has announced a massive rally at the Ramlila Maidan on November 1 as part of the INDIA bloc's "vote chori" (vote theft) campaign. The campaign centers around the Election Commission of India's special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, where names have been removed and rules have been allegedly broken.

Gandhi emphasized that "our votes are being stolen" and called for the "Chalo Delhi" march, urging citizens to come together regardless of their background. The INDIA bloc is pressuring the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise. The BJP has criticized the choice of date, accusing Gandhi of hurting the feelings of anti-Sikh riot victims.

Gandhi framed the contest as one for the citizens, not just political parties, and appealed to students, farmers, laborers, women, youth, and traders to participate. The Congress party's general secretary, KC Venugopal, sees the November 1 march as the party's biggest against "vote chori."