Rahul Gandhi hosts his first INDIA bloc dinner; SIR, ‘election theft’ on menu

The looming threat of a nationwide special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “election theft” press conference held earlier in the day dominated discussions at the INDIA bloc dinner hosted by the Lok Sabha’s Leader of Opposition on Thursday (August 7).

Also read | Rahul alleges mega 'vote theft' with Mahadevapura data; will Cong boycott polls?

The dinner, which was the first physical meeting of the top leadership of the Opposition’s coalition, saw an impressive turnout of 50 leaders from as many as 25 INDIA bloc parties. The leaders had last met virtually on July 19 to discuss the alliance’s strategy for the monsoon session of Parliament that began two days later.

United front against poll anomalies

Hosted by Rahul at his official 5, Sunehri Bagh Road residence, the INDIA bloc dinner saw the alliance leaders unequivocally endorsing Gandhi’s call for a “united fight” against electoral irregularities and the need for exposing the alleged collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission to “steal elections”.

Before dinner, Rahul showed the alliance leaders the same presentation he had made at a press conference earlier in the day, alleging the fraudulent addition of over one lakh voters in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment of Karnataka’s Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat ahead of last year’s Lok Sabha polls. The INDIA bloc leaders also discussed their protest march to Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters, which has been scheduled for August 11.

Bihar SIR, J&K statehood also discussed

Later, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav too briefed the allies about the SIR conducted in Bihar last month. Echoing Rahul’s push for the Opposition to fight unitedly against the “conspiracy of election manipulation”, Yadav also invited all INDIA bloc leaders to the protest rally that the Opposition’s Grand Alliance (comprising the RJD, Congress and Left parties) in poll-bound Bihar plans to hold at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan on September 1. Rahul and Tejashwi are likely to set forth on a multi-district hybrid yatra across South Bihar from August 10 to highlight alleged irregularities in the Bihar SIR, deteriorating law and order in the state and rampant corruption in the Nitish Kumar-led NDA government.

Sources said the two staunch political rivals from Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference chief Dr Farooq Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, both appealed to the Opposition leaders for collectively pressurising the Centre to restore statehood for J&K. Abdullah, it is learnt, also personally thanked Rahul and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge for the joint letter the two Leaders of Opposition in Parliament had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the Monsoon Session demanding legislation for restoring J&K’s statehood.

Also read | Stonewalled in Parliament, Opposition to intensify protests against SIR

Other issues that were “briefly discussed” among the leaders were the need to corner the Modi government on the tariffs slapped on India by US President Donald Trump and the crucial vice presidential polls due on September 9.

Will INDIA bloc fight vice presidential polls?

Though there was a “general consensus” on CPM general secretary MA Baby’s push for the INDIA bloc fielding a candidate against the NDA nominee in the vice presidential polls, sources said the gathering “did not go into detailed deliberations” on the issue. A senior Congress leader present at the dinner told The Federal that discussion on potential INDIA bloc candidates for the VP polls could take place after August 12, when Parliament adjourns mid-session for six days on account of Independence Day and the weekend that follows.

The last date for filing nominations for the polls is August 21, which is also the day the Monsoon Session is set to conclude. Earlier on Thursday, the NDA’s leaders had authorised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president JP Nadda to pick the ruling coalition’s nominee who would fill in the vacancy created by the sudden resignation of Jagdeep Dhankhar as Vice President on July 21.

Impressive turnout sign of Rahul’s clout

Congress insiders say the dinner meeting was also significant as this was the first time that Rahul and not his mother, Sonia Gandhi or Congress president Kharge, was hosting the INDIA bloc leaders at his residence. Thus far, such gatherings were invariably hosted by Sonia Gandhi or Kharge, amid speculations that veteran warhorses of the alliance, like Sharad Pawar, may not be comfortable with the idea of joining a meeting called and hosted by Rahul Gandhi.

A senior INDIA bloc leader told The Federal that as the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s political stature and his responsibility towards Opposition unity had grown and, as such, seasoned veterans like Pawar and Farooq Abdullah have no qualms in attending an “informal dinner” hosted by the Congress leader. Congress leaders close to the Lok Sabha LoP, however, asserted that the “impressive turnout of senior leaders from every INDIA bloc party was a sign that any misgivings they may have had about Rahul’s leadership were now in the past”.

Also read | VP poll: Tightrope walk for NDA and INDIA Bloc to pick candidates

Among the leaders present at Rahul’s get-together were NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter, Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav and Misa Bharti, Trinamool Congress’ Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, CPM general secretary MA Baby, National Conference chief Dr Farooq Abdullah, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, his wife and MP Dimple Yadav and senior party MP Ramgopal Yadav, the DMK’s TR Baalu, Kanimozhi and Tiruchi Siva, CPI-MLL general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, JMM’s Mahua Majhi and Vijay Hansdak, CPI’s D Raja, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti and several other alliance leaders. Actor-politician Kamal Hassan, who was recently elected to the Rajya Sabha, was also present.

AAP not invited to dinner

The Aam Aadmi Party, which had surprised many by attending the joint INDIA bloc press conference on the SIR issue earlier this week despite publicly severing ties with the alliance soon after the Lok Sabha polls, was not invited.

Besides Rahul, his mother and Congress parliamentary party chief Sonia Gandhi and his sister and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi too played hosts. Also in attendance were Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, party MPs Pramod Tiwari, Gaurav Gogoi, K. Suresh and KC Venugopal and chief ministers Siddaramaiah, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and Revanth Reddy.