The Congress has put 208 senior leaders on the ground to run its campaign against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. The party has appointed them as AICC observers for its nationwide "Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao" campaign, with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approving the list with immediate effect. The announcement came in a statement from general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal.
The move turns what began as a series of marches and press conferences into a structured, district-by-district operation – just as the Election Commission's revision of voter lists gathers pace across several states.
What the observers will do
Each observer has been given a cluster of districts. Their job is to supervise the campaign locally, coordinate with state and district units, and make sure the party's message reaches booth level. According to party sources, they will also try to fix organisational gaps – the weak spots where the Congress has struggled to turn anger into turnout.
The list reads like a who's who of the party's state leadership. Among those named are Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Prithviraj Chavan, Nana Patole, Balasaheb Thorat, Yashomati Thakur, HK Patil, CP Joshi, Rajiv Shukla, Nabam Tuki, Ajay Kumar Lallu and Sudip Roy Barman. Bharatpur MP Sanjana Jatav has also confirmed her appointment.
Telugu states on the list
Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have a strong presence. Former Union minister Pallam Raju, former APCC chiefs N Raghuveera Reddy and G Rudra Raju, and Nagarkurnool MP Mallu Ravi are among the leaders picked as observers – a sign that the party wants experienced hands from the Telugu states in the field.
| Campaign | Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao |
| Observers appointed | 208 AICC observers |
| Approved by | Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge |
| Announced by | KC Venugopal, general secretary (organisation) |
| Role | Supervise campaign in district clusters, booth-level mobilisation |
| Next phase | State and district rallies, October 25 to November 25 |
| Big event | INDIA bloc rally in Delhi on November 1 |
Background: the fight over voter rolls
The campaign is aimed at the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which the Election Commission has extended to 17 states, with draft rolls due on November 12. The Congress and several opposition parties allege that the process is being used to delete genuine voters, especially the poor, migrants and minorities. The party says it wants to reach more than 13 crore voters whose names, it claims, have been deleted. The Election Commission has said the revision is meant to clean up the rolls by removing duplicate, dead and shifted entries.
Rahul Gandhi has led marches against what the party calls "vote chori", and has also moved the Supreme Court over the SIR. Students and young people have staged protests in several cities demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while the DMK has separately sought his removal.
What it means for voters
Whatever side one takes, the practical point is the same: this is the time to check your name on the voter list. With draft rolls coming out on November 12 in the SIR states, voters should look themselves up on the Election Commission's portal and file a claim if their name is missing. Booth-level checking of this kind is exactly what the observers have been asked to push.
What happens next
The campaign has already gone through two rounds. It began in the first week of October with district-level meetings and marches between October 2 and 8, followed by the party's own marches and public meetings from October 10 to 20. The observers come in just as this second phase winds down, and their first test will be to keep the momentum going into the bigger rallies planned for the weeks ahead.
According to Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, the campaign will move into state and district-level rallies from October 25 to November 25, followed by village chaupals. The highlight is a joint INDIA bloc rally in Delhi on November 1, to which all opposition parties have been invited. The party also plans to distribute pamphlets listing what it describes as instances of "vote chori".
The 208 observers will be the ones expected to turn these plans into crowds – and to show whether the Congress can sustain a long campaign outside election season.
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