The Congress party’s much-touted nationwide campaign ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ (Vote thief, vacate the chair) has lost steam almost immediately after its launch in Madhya Pradesh. Despite extensive preparations, high-level meetings and the appointment of in-charges across districts and assembly segments, the campaign has failed to make any visible impact on the ground.
The drive, launched across the country on October 15, was intended to target the BJP on allegations of electoral manipulation and weakening of democratic institutions. In Madhya Pradesh, however, the campaign has barely begun. Congress leaders, who were highly active and vocal before the launch, seem to have vanished from the scene ever since the official start of the programme.
The state unit had planned a series of events, marches, and outreach programmes as part of the campaign. Yet, nearly a week later, not a single major event has taken place in any district. The absence of visible activity has raised questions about the commitment and coordination within the state Congress organisation.
A few days before the launch, on October 12, the Pradesh Congress Committee office in Bhopal hosted a major strategy meeting attended by almost all key state leaders, including party president Jitu Patwari, senior leader Digvijaya Singh, former Union Minister Kantilal Bhuria, state co-in-charges Sanjay Dutt and Ranvijay Singh Lochav, and organisational general secretary Dr Sanjay Kamle. District and assembly in-charges were instructed to take the campaign to every village and booth. However, after an energetic start on paper, the campaign has failed to translate into action on the ground.
Adding to the uncertainty, former Chief Minister Kamal Nath has so far remained aloof from the initiative. His absence from the campaign has sparked speculation about internal disinterest and differences within the party’s state leadership.
The Congress’s national leadership had envisioned the “Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod” campaign as a mass movement meant to reach every village, highlighting what it calls the BJP’s betrayal of democratic values.
The programme was designed not only as a political attack but also as a means to strengthen grassroots contact and energise the party cadre. State Congress functionaries insist the campaign will pick up momentum after Diwali, attributing the current lull to festival preparations. They maintain that party workers are fully committed to defending democracy and that the initiative will soon gain visibility across the state.
Despite these assurances, the lack of activity so far has exposed the organisational weakness of the Congress in Madhya Pradesh, a state where the BJP continues to hold a firm grip on power. The silence surrounding a campaign meant to be loud and defiant underscores once again the widening gap between Congress’s plans and their execution.
For now, the ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ movement—announced with great enthusiasm and national intent—remains confined to press statements and resolutions, with no sign of real mobilisation or public resonance in Madhya Pradesh.
