Chandigarh: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Rajiv Shukla on Monday alleged that the Election Commission has been arbitrarily removing voters' names across the country, announcing that the party is chalking out a blueprint to launch a state-wide protest movement in Punjab against what he called "massive vote theft", news agency ANI reported. The vote-theft charge is the Congress party's allegation; the ANI report did not include a response from the Election Commission.

Source: ANI via Latestly

Speaking to reporters ahead of a key organisational meeting with Punjab Congress district presidents in Chandigarh, Shukla said party leaders had assembled to discuss several pressing issues, with voter-list manipulation at the top of the agenda, ANI reported.

"We are in Chandigarh for the Punjab district presidents' meeting. We will be discussing several matters, especially the ongoing vote-theft issue. The Election Commission has been cutting people's votes across the country, and there has been massive vote theft," Shukla alleged, according to ANI.

Outlining the plan of action, Shukla said: "We are holding a comprehensive meeting with our Punjab district presidents to formulate a strategy on how to run an agitation and protest movement across Punjab over this issue."

Source: ANI via Devdiscourse

Expressing confidence about the party's electoral prospects in Punjab ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, Shukla claimed the Congress is poised to return to power and dismissed the Bharatiya Janata Party's presence in the state. "Rahul ji will also be coming to Punjab as the elections approach. The Congress will form the government in Punjab. The BJP is nowhere to be seen in the state," he said, as reported by ANI via Devdiscourse. These are the Congress leader's claims about the party's prospects.

All India Congress Committee General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal was to chair a series of high-level organisational and strategy meetings with the Punjab Congress leadership at the state party headquarters in Chandigarh on Monday. Senior Congress leader Raj Kumar Verka told reporters Venugopal's tour was aimed at reviewing party affairs and engaging with leaders at multiple organisational tiers, ANI reported.

Source: Inshorts (ANI summary)

The Chandigarh meetings come as the Punjab Congress steps up its 'Mission 2027' preparations; the party has earlier announced that Rahul Gandhi will launch its Punjab campaign from Sangrur on November 4.