INDIA Block is yet to get the appointment of President for ECI Affairs

Congress President and Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge speaks during a press conference after the INDIA bloc leaders. File | Photo credit: ANI

The INDIA bloc’s request for a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu to inform her of its concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) has so far remained empty. Opposition leaders suggested that only a select delegation meet the president, keeping in mind the protocol associated with the country’s highest constitutional office, and shared several dates for the meeting. However, according to sources, they have yet to receive any response from the presidential office.

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Three dates proposed

According to sources, leaders of the INDIA bloc have suggested that the meeting be scheduled either on October 7, 8 or 9, which will give the leaders enough notice to travel to Delhi. They proposed a 15-member delegation with one representative from each of the 15 main parties of the grouping.

Sources said the president’s office had informally communicated that the delegation should be limited to 10 members. The leader of the INDIA bloc coordinating with the President’s Secretariat said that the opposition had also agreed to the condition but still had not heard from Ms Murmu’s office.

Britta’s letter

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, he received a reply to CPI(M) MP John Brittas’ letter to President Murmu dated September 23 seeking urgent constitutional intervention in the ECI’s Special Intensive Review (SIR) exercise.

In his letter, Mr. Brittas sought the President’s intervention in the SIR dispute, unimpeded progress of the ongoing impeachment proceedings of the Chief Election Commissioner and support of the Union government before the Supreme Court to declare the SIR “void ab initio” and quash it.

On Wednesday (October 7, 2026), the President’s Secretariat forwarded the petition to the Legislative Department and marked a copy to Mr. Brittas, describing the petition as “self-evident” and ordering that the action taken be communicated to him.

“The petition is self-explanatory. The constitutional questions it raises are undesirable. The only appropriate course of action now is for Gyanesh Kumar to quit immediately,” Brittas said.

Published – 7 October 2026 21:50 IST