The Congress on Friday held high-level meetings with senior leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to intensify mobilisation for the INDIA bloc's mega rally against alleged "vote chori" (vote theft), scheduled for November 1 at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, IANS reported. AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal said the party was stepping up preparations for the event, which the opposition describes as a protest over alleged electoral irregularities — allegations that have not been established by a court or election authority.
In a post on X, Venugopal said he and Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met AICC in-charge for Uttar Pradesh Rajendra Pal Gautam, UP PCC president Aradhana Misra 'Mona' and other senior leaders from the state to discuss strategies for building large-scale participation in the rally, IANS reported. ANI reported the same meetings at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi on Friday.
A separate meeting was held with AICC in-charge Sanjay Dutt, Haryana PCC president Rao Narender Singh and senior leaders from Haryana to strengthen organisational efforts in that state, Venugopal said, according to IANS.
Venugopal described the November 1 event as the culmination of a 'Delhi Chalo' march converging in the national capital the same day, and said the party expects at least one million citizens to join the march and rally, ANI reported. He alleged — as a Congress claim — that electoral irregularities were orchestrated by "Gyanesh and Co." at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and said the mobilisation would send a message that the opposition was united in protecting democracy.
The INDIA bloc has been organising a series of protests and awareness programmes over alleged irregularities in the electoral process, and the November 1 rally is being projected by the Congress as one of the largest mobilisations by the opposition alliance in recent times, with a special focus on participation from northern states, IANS reported. The Congress has appealed to supporters to join the march and the Ramlila Maidan gathering in large numbers.