Madhya Pradesh Congress unit suspends leader who missed 'Vote Chori' rally for uncle's funeral

The Indian Youth Congress has suspended at least 185 members across seven states for missing the INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1, in a disciplinary crackdown that could eventually affect as many as 500 office-bearers. According to a report by NDTV, suspension letters issued by the organisation asked members to explain their absence from the rally, which was addressed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and attended by several INDIA bloc leaders. The action has triggered resentment among some members, who have questioned the decision to take disciplinary action over a single event despite years of service to the party.

Rohit Rajoria, a Youth Congress general secretary who was removed from his post, told NDTV that he had faced 15 FIRs and been jailed three to four times for participating in party protests during his 15 years with the organisation. "Are we being removed just for missing one event?" he asked, questioning why he was not given an opportunity to explain his absence. Rajoria said he had informed the leadership in advance that he would be unable to travel to Delhi because of the tervi, or 13th-day remembrance ceremony, for his late uncle. He also showed a card inviting people to the ceremony. Highest number of suspensions in MP Madhya Pradesh has seen the highest number of suspensions, with 60 members facing action, followed by Gujarat with 49 and West Bengal with 26.

In a statement shared on X, the state unit said the action was taken in compliance with directives from the Indian Youth Congress national leadership. The suspensions will remain in force "until further orders", it said, adding that the move was aimed at ensuring organisational discipline and adherence to the national leadership's instructions. Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress tweets, "Suspension Order, in compliance with the directives of the National Leadership of the Indian Youth Congress, taking the organizational indiscipline arising from the absence of the following office-bearers of the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress from the "Vote Theft Rally" held on 01 November 2026 at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi, with utmost seriousness, the following office-bearers of the Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress are hereby suspended with immediate effect until further orders.

This action is being taken with the objective of ensuring organizational discipline and adherence to the directives of the National Leadership. As per orders, Madhya Pradesh Youth Congress" -- IANS (@ians_india) November 3, 2026 The organisation has also suspended 14 members in Telangana, 13 in central Uttar Pradesh, 13 in Himachal Pradesh and 10 in Haryana, NDTV reported. Ahead of the November 1 rally, the Youth Congress had instructed its national, state and district-level office-bearers to attend both the march and the public meeting. It had also introduced a digital attendance system using barcode scanners at the Minto Road assembly point and its official mobile application, 'With IYC'.

While the Youth Congress claimed that around 15,000 workers had gathered at Minto Road for the march to Ramlila Maidan, internal data showed that only 2,831 people had registered their attendance through the application. An internal review attributed the gap partly to poor internet connectivity along the route and a lack of technical awareness among workers. It also found that several members had skipped the event without informing the organisation in advance. Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib defended the action, saying the rally had been successful and that disciplinary measures were necessary to ensure accountability.

Chib told NDTV that despite clear instructions, some office-bearers had failed to attend the event. He said those considered inactive had been removed to make way for workers who were more involved in organisational activities. The scrutiny is also expected to extend to the Congress party. Its war room is reportedly examining the attendance of key leaders and gathering feedback on district presidents appointed through a programme aimed at identifying new leadership. The BJP, meanwhile, disputed the Congress's claims about the rally's turnout. BJP MP Sambit Patra alleged that a substantial portion of the venue remained vacant, claiming that 5,000-7,000 of the 28,000 chairs were unoccupied.

Gandhi had addressed the rally alongside INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee. Gandhi alleged large-scale manipulation of electronic voting machines and electoral rolls.