Alleging irregularities in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, they demanded the cancellation of the election on the Varanasi Lok Sabha seat and an independent probe into claims of ‘vote theft’. Varanasi: Launching a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, scores of Congress workers staged a demonstration at the district headquarters on Monday and demanded his resignation.
Under the joint banner of the district and city Congress committees, party functionaries gathered near the statue of BR Ambedkar and marched to the district headquarters, raising slogans such as ‘Stop vote theft’, ‘Save democracy’ and ‘Hold re-election in Varanasi’. After the demonstration, they submitted a memorandum addressed to the President of India to district administration officials.
Congress city president Raghvendra Choubey said UP Congress Committee president Ajay Rai was the ‘real MP of Kashi’ as the people of Varanasi had supported him in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, but his defeat was ensured through vote theft. He demanded that the 2024 Varanasi parliamentary election be annulled, a fresh election be held, and all records related to polling, counting and data displayed by the Election Commission be examined by an impartial agency.
Congress leaders said the issue concerns voters’ rights, constitutional values and public trust in elections. The party said it would continue democratic protests until authorities address its demands through formal constitutional channels. Leading the protest, district Congress president Rajeshwar Singh Patel alleged that questions surrounding the election process had damaged public faith in democratic institutions. He accused Gyanesh Kumar of undermining democracy and the Constitution, and demanded his immediate dismissal and imprisonment if wrongdoing is established. They insisted that all records, counting figures and related documents be investigated transparently, and that the findings be made public.