2024 mandate stolen from Congress: Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday told Congress that the "2024 mandate" was stolen from it, as the party finalised a three-stage campaign over two months to intensify its protest against "vote chori", starting with a nationwide torchlight march on the eve of Independence Day.

At a meeting of Congress office bearers chaired by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul is said to have remarked that the Lok Sabha election results would have gone in favour of Congress but the party was robbed of it. He is said to have mentioned that Congress lost over 40 seats owing to voter list manipulation like his "expose" on the Mahadevapura assembly constituency in Bangalore Central LS seat.

Sources said Congress was doing voter list analyses in many more seats.

Rahul alluded to the possibility of more revelations, when he urged patience and told reporters, "picture abhi baaki hai". "There is not just one seat (where there is 'vote chori') but a number of seats. This is being done at a national level and systematically. EC knows it and we know it too," Rahul said.

Congress will take out a "mashaal ma-rch" at every district headquarters on the night of Aug 14 targeting BJP over "manipulation of voters lists". It will then hold rallies in all state capitals between Aug 22-Sept 7. From Sept 15-Oct 15, the party will run a massive signature campaign to "save the right to vote" and to "serve as a referendum against BJP's destruction of democracy". All three programmes will be titled "vote chor, gaddi chhod".

The meeting included Rahul, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Sachin Pilot, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Kumari Selja, Jitendra Singh, Randeep Surjewala, Avinash Pande, K Raju and Bhupesh Baghel, among others.