Ready for special session on 'vote theft', but Opposition not interested, says Amit Shah

Amit Shah said that instead of accepting defeat, the Opposition began accusing the umpire of cheating, claiming that votes were stolen

In this image posted on Oct. 30, 2026, Union Home Minister Amit Shah during Uttar Pradesh BJP working committee meeting, in Lucknow. (Photo | PTI)

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the BJP is ready for a special Parliament session to discuss the alleged "vote theft", but the Opposition parties are not interested in discussion.

"I challenge Rahul (Gandhi) and Akhilesh (Yadav). The BJP is ready to discuss every allegation inside Parliament ... But they will not discuss," Shah told party workers in Lucknow, dismissing the allegations against the poll panel as baseless.

Amit Shah said, "We have nothing to hide. Let us convene a special session of Parliament—but they have no intention of speaking there. They refuse to let Parliament function; instead, they just create a ruckus".

Listing the BJP's victory in Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar, Delhi, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal, Shah said, " After the events in Bengal, they have realised that they simply cannot win elections. Naturally, when a team loses a match or a game, they should sit down and practice more—that is what is expected, isn't it?"

He added, "Instead of accepting defeat, they began accusing the umpire of cheating, claiming that votes were stolen."

Amit Shah's statement comes ahead of the INDIA bloc's plan to hold a "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday and a protest rally at the Ramlila ground on Sunday under the slogan 'Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao'.

#WATCH | Lucknow | Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "...'Rahul Baba,' I challenge both you and Akhilesh Yadav right here and now: the Bharatiya Janata Party is fully prepared to discuss this (CEC-SIR row) in Parliament. We have nothing to hide. Let us convene a special session of Parliament—but they have no intention of speaking there. They refuse to let Parliament function; instead, they just create a ruckus" In Haryana, the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government after securing the highest number of seats. In Maharashtra, the NDA formed the government with the largest share of seats. In Bihar, for the first time, a Chief Minister from the Bharatiya Janata Party took office. In Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government after three decades. In Puducherry, the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government once again. In Assam, we achieved a hat-trick by winning 100 seats, and in Bengal, we completely wiped out Mamata Didi. After the events in Bengal, they have realised that they simply cannot win elections. Naturally, when a team loses a match or a game, they should sit down and practice more—that is what is expected, isn't it? But 'Rahul Baba' is cut from a different cloth. The same goes for Akhilesh and others in the 'INDIA' alliance who are with him. Instead of accepting defeat, they began accusing the umpire of cheating, claiming that votes were stolen. 'Rahul Baba,' I challenge both you and Akhilesh Yadav right here and now: the Bharatiya Janata Party is fully prepared to discuss this in Parliament. We have nothing to hide. Let us convene a special session of Parliament—but they have no intention of speaking there. They refuse to let Parliament function; instead, they just create a ruckus"

— ANI (@ANI) October 30, 2026

The move is part of the Opposition's escalating campaign against Gyanesh Kumar, whom it has accused of partisan conduct and mishandling the revision of electoral rolls. The parties have been demanding his resignation, alleging that the exercise has resulted in the large-scale deletion of eligible voters.

Inviting political parties, civil society groups and the public to join the march in large numbers, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said both programmes were against the “demolition of Indian democracy” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Gyanesh Kumar.

Accusing Shah of trying to prevent people from reaching Delhi to attend the march, Gandhi alleged that party workers and ordinary citizens traveling from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Telangana and Punjab were being stopped.

It may be recalled that the controversy intensified after the Election Commission's SIR exercise placed 13.39 crore electors under the categories of absent, shifted, dead and duplicate (ASDD) across the country. The poll panel has maintained that the exercise was intended to remove ineligible and duplicate entries, while allowing genuine voters whose names were omitted to seek inclusion.

The Opposition's campaign received fresh impetus following reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over decisions relating to the SIR and the management of electoral rolls. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that its decisions were unanimous.