The opposition INDIA Bloc will hold a “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 30 in Delhi, followed by a march to Ramlila Maidan on November 1. The bloc says the October 30 proceeding will deliver a public verdict against him, and it wants him removed.

The target is clear. The opposition wants Kumar gone over what it calls “vote theft” and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The bloc says the deletion of lakhs of votes is central to its case, and it has made Kumar’s resignation a core demand.

A mock Parliament, a live verdict

According to reports, the proceeding will take place as a “mock Parliament” at Hotel Ashok. All opposition MPs and top leaders are expected to be present. The format is theatrical by design. It places the Election Commission chief on trial in front of the opposition’s full bench, with a verdict announced in public.

Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal laid out the stakes on X. He framed the proceeding as a defence of the Constitution.

“In our effort to save the Constitution and defeat the Vote Chors, INDIA bloc will be holding a crucial Public Impeachment proceeding on 30th October – where the public’s verdict to remove the ‘Vote Chor’ CEC Gyanesh Kumar will be delivered loud and clear.”

Venugopal then pointed to the next step. The bloc will stage a “Dilli Chalo March” against “vote chori” on November 1, ending at Ramlila Maidan. He described it as the opposition’s biggest show yet and said at least a million concerned citizens would take part.

Building the numbers

Mallikarjun Kharge has reached out to all INDIA Bloc parties to secure their presence in Delhi on both days, Venugopal said. Kharge has already spoken to a few leaders, he added.

Inside the Congress, the mobilisation is moving fast. The party leadership held internal meetings with heads of its frontal organisations and Delhi unit leaders at Indira Bhavan, planning to make the November 1 rally a grand success. Venugopal, along with AICC Treasurer Ajay Maken, met the AICC In-Charge, the Delhi PCC President and senior leaders to review preparations. The meetings followed a day of talks with leaders of the party’s Uttar Pradesh and Haryana units. The party is activating its rank and file to fill the grounds.

Mahila Congress chief Alka Lamba said the rally will be the opposition’s biggest, with a target of 10 lakh people. She also shut down talk of changing plans. She said there was no question of postponing or cancelling the rally, even though some have suggested it because of the festival season.

Why the bloc is taking the fight to the CEC

The rally is part of a series of opposition protests against the SIR and what the bloc calls the CEC’s “poll irregularities.” The opposition says the deletion of lakhs of votes is the problem, and it argues the government must face pressure over it.

The street campaign has already reached the highest court in the country. On October 12, protests over the “vote theft” charge arrived at the Supreme Court’s doorstep. Opposition leaders, joined by activists and civil society members, took part in a “March for Democracy” along a heavily barricaded route. The group then filed a joint petition against the SIR.

Venugopal said the November 1 rally will send a strong message that the opposition is united in protecting democracy and “driving vote chors out of power.” That message now carries a direct challenge to the country’s top election official. An open impeachment-style trial of the CEC, staged in the capital and backed by the full opposition, puts the integrity of the vote itself on public trial.

What happens next: The October 30 proceeding comes first. The November 1 march to Ramlila Maidan will test how many people the bloc can actually mobilise, and whether the Election Commission responds to a campaign that has moved from the courts to the streets.