Newdelhi,Oct 13, 2026 00:34 IST

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has invited INDIA opposition bloc members of parliament for a high tea gathering at his residence on Tuesday. According to people familiar with the matter, the consultation is designed to outline a unified blueprint for demonstrations regarding alleged vote theft and to intensify pressure for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Sources indicated that the opposition coalition might organize a subsequent protest or a joint media briefing following the session, though specific arrangements remain undisclosed. The gathering is scheduled to take place at Gandhi's official residence located at 5, Sunehri Bagh Road.

The upcoming discussion follows closely on the heels of the vote theft controversy moving into the Supreme Court. Prominent opposition figures, alongside civil society activists and citizens, recently participated in a heavily barricaded March for Democracy before submitting a joint legal petition concerning special intensive revision measures and reported election anomalies.

A substantial assembly bearing banners and flags gathered in Connaught Place for the event. Participants included Rajya Sabha Opposition Leader Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, Communist Party of India leader D Raja, CPI-M representative M A Baby, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, and Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Supriya Sule. Demonstrators breached an initial barricade along Bhagwan Dass Road before being halted at a second barrier, after which senior coalition leaders proceeded to the Supreme Court.

The filed petition names the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as respondents. This legal move transpired a day after the Chief Justice of India turned down a plea from opposition leaders for a meeting on the subject, citing the matter as sub judice. Tuesday's scheduled high tea will serve to unite INDIA bloc parliamentarians as they determine their subsequent political and legal actions.