New Delhi: Even as it dismissed the I.N.D.I.A. protests against the Central Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar fielding union ministers to call it a failed Opposition narrative, BJP leaders said that the general hope wi…

New Delhi: Even as it dismissed the I.N.D.I.A. protests against the Central Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar fielding union ministers to call it a failed Opposition narrative, BJP leaders said that the general hope within the party is that the issue goes the UGC way. After it faced strict criticism from its upper case voter base over the UGC Guidelines, the BJP has followed court directive on the matter. On Tuesday, as high drama ensued on a march to the poll body’s office by the Opposition bloc, spokesperson Sambit Patra held a press conference at the party headquarters, questioning Rahul Gandhi how did the BJP win in 2014, 2019, and 2024 before Gyanesh’s appointment. Rahul takes centre stage of street politics in protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar“The Congress is questioning EVMs now, but they were introduced during the tenure of the Rajiv Gandhi Government. The party should clarify whether the names of 2.8 crore deceased persons and 1 crore duplicate entries should be allowed to remain on the electoral rolls,” Patra exhorted. The party also fielded heavyweights like union ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Kiren Rijiju. Rijiju said that an “accurate and updated” voter list is the “strong foundation of transparent and fair elections”. Chouhan said that a “pure” voter list is the “soul of democracy”.However, within the party some leaders hoped that the matter, which is in court right now, will be tackled by the judiciary so that tempers cool down. “We cannot be seen as defending the EC too much, but in Bengal, the spectre of ‘chappa votes’ has always been there and we cleaned the lists. The matter is with the Supreme Court now and they will deal with it,” a senior leader from a state headed to the polls next year said. 15 former civil servants, activists issue ‘people’s impeachment notice’ against CEC Gyanesh KumarFour FIRs lodged over ‘violence’ during NSUI protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, 18 heldThe BJP, which notified the UGC Equity Regulations 2026 in January this year, had faced stiff opposition from its upper caste voter base, leading the Supreme Court to place the rules under an interim stay. The regulations, its critics say, defined caste-based discrimination strictly in relation to Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC), leaving general category and upper-caste students outside its ambit. Another senior leader, a key spokesperson, said that the narrative will cool down before the next Lok Sabha elections. “If the apex court decides it within a reasonable time frame, then the matter should be done away with even before the assembly polls next year, and definitely before the next general elections,” the leader said. 

Source: Deccan Herald