Rahul-Priyanka surprise stole show at INDIA march. Why allies are not amused

Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra stole the show at the INDIA bloc march to the Election Commission's office in Delhi on Tuesday with the sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan. But this has upset Congress's allies, many of whom feel Tuesday's mega protest eventually became a Gandhi siblings show.

The Gandhis, they feel, grabbed the spotlight with the sit-in at Akashvani Bhavan, the All India Radio headquarters, while other Opposition leaders were detained and taken away to police stations. Sources said KC Venugopal, Congress's general secretary (organisation), told other INDIA bloc parties that the Congress leadership "acted in the moment" and that he regretted the "mistrust" created because the allies were not kept in the loop.

Voices from among the allies feel what was a joint Opposition protest turned into a "Rahul Gandhi show". Some also questioned the Congress leaders' insistence on meeting the Election Commission when the protest was against them.

What happened on Tuesday

About 200 Opposition MPs gathered at Parliament's Makar Dwar on Tuesday before marching to the Election Commission office to demand the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner, over issues linked to the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls.

Delhi Police had cordoned off all roads leading to the poll panel's office, and as the Opposition march reached Akashvani Bhavan, senior Opposition MPs, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, were detained, put on buses and taken to police stations.

An "impromptu" move

In a move the Congress described as "impromptu", the Gandhi siblings entered the Akashvani Bhavan and staged a sit-in for hours. According to Congress sources, Rahul Gandhi planned to enter the Akashvani Bhavan complex and exit through the back gate, right opposite to the Election Commission office. But when police locked the back gate, the Gandhi siblings and other party leaders, including Venugopal, Pawan Khera and Imran Pratapgarhi, staged a sit-in at the Akashvani Bhavan, demanding a meeting with the Election Commission.

The Gandhi siblings and Congress leaders with them were detained late in the evening and released later. An FIR has now been filed.

Congress leaders said the Akashvani Bhavan sit-in was not part of the plan and that the Gandhi siblings pulled off a surprise move. "The Congress leaders didn't know about the protest, so the allies also didn't know," said a Congress leader.

Congress leaders defended the decision to protest at Akashvani Bhavan, calling it "spontaneous". "How could we have predicted this? And the MPs of other parties could have come back, and some of them did. The Congress has ensured all allies feel included," said a Congress leader.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge will be hosting a lunch for INDIA bloc MPs at Sagar Ratna restaurant in Janpath.

Why allies are not happy

"Today's protest was an INDIA bloc protest. But eventually it became a Congress and Rahul Gandhi protest," said a source in the INDIA bloc parties.

Some senior leaders of the allies also said that the Congress's decision to demand a meeting with the Election Commission was not something the allies would have agreed to. "Why would we meet the Election Commission when we are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar? If this had been discussed with the allies, we wouldn't have agreed," said a Left MP.

Not the first time

The Congress had done something similar during the Monsoon Session of Parliament when allies were not told about Rahul Gandhi's plan to stage a sit-in outside Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence, demanding then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation over paper leaks.

Then, Congress leaders such as Venugopal reached out to allies, and Akhilesh Yadav and Supriya Sule, among others, joined Rahul Gandhi at the protest.