In view of Ahmedabad plane crash, Cong puts off Maharashtra 'vote theft' protest till Jun 16

Mumbai: The Congress on Thursday said it was putting off its Maharashtra polls "vote theft" protest for three days in view of the Ahmedabad plane crash.

The protest will now start from June 16 after a three-day mourning period, during which condolence meetings will be held at district unit offices, the party said in a statement.

The Congress lined up the protest programme following an article as well as social media posts by its leader Rahul Gandhi alleging manipulation in the November 2024 Maharashtra assembly polls, which the BJP-led Mahayuti won comprehensively.

The victory of the Mahayuti came just months after the Maha Vikas Aghadi, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), had won 31 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

A London-bound Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed in a residential area minutes after taking off from Gujarat's Ahmedabad airport on Thursday afternoon. Many people are feared killed.