First show of unity after LS polls, Rahul Gandhi to host INDIA bloc dinner meeting on August 7

Indian Express

a day ago

In their first show of unity since the Lok Sabha elections last year, leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc will gather for a dinner meeting on August 7. Hosted by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, they plan to chalk out a joint strategy on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and discuss fielding a joint candidate for the Vice-Presidential elections scheduled for September 9.
The dinner will be followed by a protest march to the Election Commission's (EC) office in New Delhi the following day. The INDIA bloc parties plan to demonstrate against the ongoing SIR exercise in Bihar that they allege could allow the manipulation of electoral rolls and which, according to them, bypasses the constitutional role of the poll panel.
The Congress has been facing flak from several INDIA bloc leaders for not taking the initiative to keep the alliance together. The top leaders of the coalition had last met for a structured meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's home in New Delhi a day after the Lok Sabha election results. The upcoming meeting is being viewed as a crucial moment that could allow the alliance to regroup.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav have confirmed their presence, while Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Abhishek Banerjee is also likely to attend. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M K Stalin, who is said to be unwell, may join if his health permits. Leaders from the Shiv Sena (UBT), Nationalist Congress Party (SP), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and other INDIA bloc constituents are also expected to attend the meeting.
The SIR has become a glue for the divided INDIA bloc to come together, as they have not let Parliament function on this issue, barring last week's debate on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor and its aftermath.
The Opposition has alleged that the SIR exercise, which is going on in Bihar at present, is unconstitutional and aimed at excluding the poor and the disadvantaged with the aim of voter manipulation. Since the SIR is now going to be conducted in all states, the Opposition has been demanding a discussion in the House. With Assembly elections due in key Opposition-ruled states such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu next year, there is a sense of alarm among parties such as the TMC and the DMK about the exercise. The RJD and the Congress are already up in arms against the exercise in Bihar.
While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has already announced it is no longer part of the INDIA bloc, the TMC, which has not been on good terms with the Congress, said it would attend the meeting. It is an opportunity for the Congress to rally all the parties together once again and shed the criticism that it was not taking the initiative to keep the alliance alive despite being the largest Opposition party.
Sources in the Opposition said it would not allow Parliament to function unless the government agreed to a discussion on SIR. On Friday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju effectively rejected the demand, citing a ruling by former Lok Sabha Speaker Balram Jakhar to argue that the functioning of a constitutional body such as the EC cannot be discussed in Parliament.
The Monsoon Session so far has seen repeated adjournments over the issue, with the Opposition pressing for debate and the government refusing to budge.
The INDIA bloc, which came together last year to present a united front against the BJP, has struggled to project cohesion since the general elections. The alliance appeared divided on several issues, most notably on the Adani-Hindenburg controversy, with some parties choosing not to back the Congress-led charge.
However, the SIR controversy has served as a rallying point, with bloc members seeing in it a larger threat to the sanctity of elections. Leaders of the alliance's constituents hope that the dinner meeting and the protest march will help project renewed unity at a time when questions about the bloc have been growing louder.