12 Chief Ministers vs Rahul Gandhi: BJP's Attack Formation In Gyanesh Kumar's Defence

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday fielded a dozen of its chief ministers at press conferences in their respective states to counter Leader of Opposition (Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi over his allegations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar amid reports of dissent within the poll body. The move came a day before the Congress plans to hold nationwide district-level protests demanding Gyanesh Kumar's removal.

The chief ministers accused Gandhi and the Opposition INDIA bloc of questioning the EC's impartiality without basis and of conspiring to "defame constitutional institutions", according to a statement issued by the BJP. In states without BJP or National Democratic Alliance (NDA) governments, state BJP presidents or Leaders of the Opposition in the respective Assemblies held press conferences, the party said.

Steadfast in gunning for Gyanesh Kumar, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday convened a virtual meeting with over 1,000 District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents ahead of Monday's protests. The Congress has demanded reversal of decisions taken under his watch, as a report in The Indian Express on September 23 revealed that the other two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had objected to at least 14 moves over 10 months, over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls and related issues.

The EC has responded twice on the record, not denying the objections but saying these were mere disagreements that were addressed, as the eventual decisions were all unanimous. Sandhu and Joshi have not spoken to the media, though the second EC press note issued on Saturday listed a number of measures and clarifications.

A day after the IE report, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference claiming his "vote chori" charge now stood vindicated, and he demanded that Gyanesh Kumar quit or be removed over "treason". The Congress leader alleged that the two commissioners' objection letters were not acted upon because Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Home Minister, Amit Shah, shielded Gyanesh Kumar. He also claimed the 2024 Lok Sabha and recent state elections had all been rigged.

The BJP, however, has said the EC's press notes have settled the matter. This is the line the party's chief ministers took as they spoke in a chorus across state capitals. The BJP, in its statement, said the EC had responded point by point to every allegation made by the Opposition. It described the EC's full house meeting of Saturday as "a joint press conference".

"No vote was stolen, Rahul Gandhi's mind has been stolen," Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said. Fadnavis also said Gandhi wanted to spread anarchy by defaming institutions while claiming to protect the Constitution.

Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Adityanath said Opposition parties had spread confusion over the SIR.  Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma called the INDIA bloc an "alliance of losers".  "Cleansing of the voter list is necessary, because 'booth capturing' no longer works in the country," Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said.

West Bengal's Suvendu Adhikari said the Congress supported the SIR in Kerala because it won there, but opposed it in Bengal after losing the election.  Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said asking questions was acceptable in a democracy, apparently referring to the reported objection letters. He said it was wrong to defame institutions "by presenting a note from an internal discussion as a final decision".

Rajasthan's Bhajan Lal Sharma said the Opposition was spreading lies to hide its electoral defeats. He asked why the Congress had not checked facts before levelling serious allegations over the June 24, 2025 orders, about the nationwide SIR, which he said were passed with full consensus.

Chhattisgarh's Vishnu Deo Sai said the Congress, "having lost more than 100 elections", had resorted to "anti-national" conduct. He said the Election Commissioners' joint statement -- a press note was issued along with a photo of the three on a table -- exposed the "conspiracy to tarnish the country's image".

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta of Delhi, where a third of the electorate has been removed and a third of the remaining has got notices as part of ongoing revision, said the Opposition's stance on the issue was meant to "divert attention from its failures". She rhetorically asked whether the EC had transparency during Congress rule. She claimed the poll body earlier worked entirely on the Congress's instructions. 

Haryana's Nayab Singh Saini said the Opposition had only one mission left, either "abusing the PM" or "insulting constitutional institutions".

Mohan Yadav, the Madhya Pradesh chief minister, said Gandhi could manage neither his party nor his family, and had therefore taken to spreading lies. At the same press conference, Madhya Pradesh BJP president Hemant Khandelwal accused the Congress of creating confusion among the public.

Gujarat's Bhupendra Patel said the Congress spoke of a victory for democracy and the EC's fairness when it won elections. "When the BJP won under Modi, it raised false claims of vote theft and rigging," he added. Patel cited recent quarterly GDP figures to say India's growth rate had reached 7.8 per cent and the country was on course to become the world's third-largest economy.

In Karnataka, BJP's R Ashoka and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, Leaders of the Opposition in the Assembly and Legislative Council respectively, also said the Congress was "building a fabricated narrative". Kerala BJP general secretary Anoop Antony claimed senior state Congress leaders were defending the SIR while Gandhi was "spreading lies".

Union minister G Kishan Reddy held a press conference in Hyderabad, Telangana. BJP state presidents in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand also targeted Gandhi.

The BJP stressed that the EC remains an autonomous institution.