LUCKNOW, Uttar Pradesh, India, October 21 (ANI) — Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam said Wednesday that seat-sharing negotiations within the INDIA alliance for the 2027 state assembly elections have officially begun. He said the Congress has staked a claim to specific constituencies based on public trust and the growth of its organization.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Gautam said the alliance’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when the INDIA bloc won 43 parliamentary seats in Uttar Pradesh, demonstrated the influence of Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and the party’s revitalized organizational network.
“The Congress party is actively building its organization on the ground, and it is growing significantly stronger. The results in the recent Lok Sabha election, where the INDIA bloc won 43 seats in UP, reflect the impact of Rahul Gandhi’s influence. Based on this, and on the strength of our organization and the trust placed in our party, we have requested certain seats,” Gautam told reporters.
Emphasizing that discussions among alliance leaders are underway, he said, “Discussions have now begun, and as we stated earlier, the agreement will be honourable. We will present the details of that agreement once it is finalized. Certain matters are currently being discussed by the party leadership, and the outcome will be communicated in due time.”
Gautam also criticized the Election Commission of India, alleging that the poll body was undermining democratic processes by arbitrarily altering voter lists.
“Our primary focus today is on how the Election Commission is undermining our democracy and the Constitution by deleting the legitimate votes of citizens or altering their details,” Gautam alleged.
The Congress leader cited specific discrepancies and claimed that targeted changes were being made to influence election results in favor of the ruling party.
“If the names of 13,150 individuals in a single constituency are altered, the election effectively becomes one-sided. We will not let this go unchallenged. All these facts and evidence will be submitted as part of the petition filed by the INDIA bloc in the Supreme Court,” he added.
Uttar Pradesh Congress President Aradhana “Mona” Mishra said the party would continue to defend voters’ rights.
“We have presented evidence. In the list released by the Election Commission on April 2, following the summary revision, the EPIC (voter ID) numbers and the names of the individuals were recorded. Now, on their website, while the EPIC numbers remain the same, the names and fathers’ names have been altered. This is a serious matter. If we cannot safeguard the voting rights of our constituents, then when the final electoral roll is published and a voter goes to cast their ballot, they will find that their vote is effectively gone. Given this conspiracy, involving over 13,000 such suspicious alterations, we will seek legal counsel. We are prepared to take whatever legal action is necessary; it is our duty to protect the votes of the people of our state,” she said.
Congress MP Imran Masood said the party had presented evidence to support its allegations.
“The Congress has raised a major and serious issue today. We haven’t just made allegations, but we have presented facts. The EPIC (voter ID) number remains the same, yet the name and the father’s name have been altered. This is a grave matter: more than 13,000 votes have been manipulated in this manner within a single assembly constituency. Every individual must take it upon themselves to safeguard their own vote. If things are allowed to continue this way in our country, then democratic elections will lose all meaning. This is now a battle to save the nation, a fight that every single person must join. Everyone must protect their own vote; otherwise, these plunderers are waiting to loot. By carrying out such theft, they undermine democracy and form the government… We will fight this battle on the streets, in Parliament, and in the courts as well,” he said. (ANI)
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