INDIA Bloc Meet Tomorrow: Who’s Attending, Who’s Skipping As Opposition Plans Joint Fight Against SIR – Delhi News Daily

Last Updated:September 29, 2026, 15:22 IST

The Opposition is demanding removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over its allegations of irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and others during a press conference after the INDIA bloc meeting. (Image: File/PTI)

The INDIA bloc will hold a high-level meeting at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi on Wednesday, September 30 to discuss a common strategy on the controversy surrounding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, EVMs, VVPAT and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The meeting is also expected to discuss a proposed removal motion against Kumar, including the possibility of collecting signatures from opposition MPs.

Who will attend the meeting?

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi are expected to attend.

The Trinamool Congress will be represented by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti are also expected to participate.

The Left parties will also be part of the deliberations. CPI(M) will be represented by its Rajya Sabha floor leader John Brittas. MA Baby will not attend in protest over some remarks made by Congress leaders. CPI, CPI(ML), RSP and other Left parties are also expected to participate.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray will join the meeting virtually because of prior engagements in Mumbai, including an upcoming campaign against the Election Commission.

NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule and other leaders will also participate. Smaller allies and regional parties, including JMM, IUML, VCK, MDMK, Kerala Congress variants, RLP, BAP, Lok Dal and Forward Bloc, are also part of the deliberations. Independent MP Kapil Sibal is expected to be involved as well.

Akhilesh skips meeting

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav will not attend the meeting in person and the party will instead send senior leaders.

According to reports quoting SP sources, Akhilesh informed Congress’ top leadership about his unavailability and cited his preoccupation with the upcoming Rajya Sabha biennial polls in Uttar Pradesh and other prior commitments.

The development comes amid indications that Akhilesh is not inclined to give in to what SP sources described as “pressure tactics” while negotiating seat-sharing with Congress for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls scheduled for early next year.

Sources said Congress had been “exerting” pressure on the SP to finalise the seat-sharing arrangement at the earliest. Congress has also sought a “respectable” deal and hinted at going solo if talks fail.

DMK, AAP, BJD stay away

The Biju Janata Dal has chosen not to attend the meeting, while the Aam Aadmi Party is also not participating after progressively distancing itself from the INDIA bloc over the past year.

The DMK will not attend either. After Congress snapped ties with the DMK, the party said on record that it would not remain part of the INDIA bloc. The DMK had distanced itself from the alliance following the Tamil Nadu Assembly election results in May, after Congress switched to Vijay’s TVK, which formed the government.

TVK, which had been mentioned in some reports as a possible new entrant, will also not attend this meeting.

While some reports had earlier flagged the participation of the National Conference and JMM as uncertain, Omar Abdullah is now listed among the attendees, while JMM’s participation was yet to be finalised in some reports.

What is on the agenda?

The immediate trigger is the opposition’s demand for the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and its allegations of irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.

The meeting is likely to focus on three issues: the removal motion in Parliament and collection of signatures; intensifying the demand for Kumar’s resignation and an impartial inquiry into EC decisions; and preparing a framework for nationwide protests, particularly in poll-bound Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The meeting follows a September 23 report in The Indian Express on internal disagreements within the ECI over the SIR and related issues. The report said commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections 14 times in 10 months.

The meeting followed discussions between Mamata Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi and CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby, who proposed an immediate opposition huddle, sources said.

The developments have also brought the TMC and CPI(M), political rivals in West Bengal, together on the EC issue.

The bloc last met on June 8 at the Constitution Club. Before the September 30 meeting, the Congress Working Committee will meet on September 29 to discuss the party’s strategy.

The CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation have demanded Kumar’s removal and an immediate halt to the SIR.

CPI(ML)-Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the meeting should include all Opposition parties, civil society members, concerned citizens and public intellectuals. He said India’s democracy and electoral system had “never faced a crisis of this magnitude” and asked when Kumar would step down. He also said that as long as Kumar remained CEC, the Commission retained “no credibility whatsoever”.

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What are the main agenda items for the INDIA bloc meeting on September 30?

The INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for September 30, 2026, at the Constitution Club in New Delhi is set to focus on a joint strategy regarding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, EVMs, VVPAT, and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Key agenda points include discussing a removal motion against CEC Kumar in Parliament along with signature collection, intensifying demands for his resignation and an impartial inquiry, and establishing a framework for nationwide protests in poll-bound states like Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.

Which major opposition parties are skipping the September 30 INDIA bloc meeting?

Several parties are skipping or staying away from the September 30 meeting. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav is not attending in person due to prior commitments and upcoming Rajya Sabha polls, sending senior leaders instead. Additionally, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) and the Aam Janata Party (AAP) are not participating, while the DMK officially confirmed it would not remain part of the alliance after Congress severed ties.

What triggered the opposition’s intense mobilization and demand to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar?

The immediate catalyst for the opposition’s mobilization is a September 23 report published in The Indian Express revealing internal friction within the Election Commission of India over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The report detailed that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded formal objections 14 times over a span of 10 months, prompting opposition parties to demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and push for his removal.

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Shuddhanta PatraSenior Sub-Editor

Shuddhanta Patra is an Indian journalist with about nine years of experience in covering national politics, geopolitics, defence, diplomacy and international affairs. Her reporting focuses on South As…Read More

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