Protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation continued in Delhi, with several demonstrators detained as the Opposition stepped up its campaign over alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Opposition has sustained its campaign over the past 12 days, with demonstrations organised by INDIA bloc leaders and CJP on different dates. Rahul Gandhi and senior Opposition leaders began taking to the streets on October 6, followed by further protests on October 7, 8, 9 and 12. CJP had separately announced a demonstration for October 10. The political contest is also unfolding ahead of Assembly elections scheduled in several states in 2027.
Because aISA leader Neha Bora had joined the INDIA bloc’s demonstration a day earlier, standing alongside Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, the development drew attention. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur are among the states due to go to the polls in February and March, placing the Opposition’s electoral concerns at the centre of the political debate. Bora also attended a tea meeting hosted by Rahul Gandhi at his residence, where she was given an opportunity to speak. The central demand remains Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, with Opposition parties alleging that the Election Commission’s actions, including the SIR exercise, are providing an electoral advantage to the ruling party. They have also vowed to continue raising the issue of alleged vote theft. However, there are few indications that the Chief Election Commissioner will step down. Gyanesh Kumar continues to discharge his official duties, while the government has shown no sign of yielding to the Opposition’s demand.
Meanwhile, members of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), a Left-wing student organisation, staged a separate demonstration in Patna, around 1,000 kilometres from Delhi. Representatives of 16 parties attended, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML), along with Congress leaders. On October 12, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of 11 leaders from 10 Opposition parties. However, the Supreme Court Registry identified 14 defects in the petition. The petition also had a shortfall of Rs 220 in the required court fee. The Registry sought clarification on why the officials had been impleaded individually in a writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, which allows individuals to approach the Supreme Court for the enforcement of fundamental rights. With the Opposition continuing its street campaign while pursuing the matter in court, the key question remains whether the protests will lead to any change in the government’s position or continue alongside preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections.
The leaders jointly announced that their protests would continue, signalling that the campaign against the Election Commission would remain a key part of the INDIA bloc’s political strategy. Shah pointed out that the Congress had lost elections in Gujarat even when ballot papers were used.
Congress leaders said they would continue their efforts to defend democracy. Opposition leaders have said that the defects will be rectified soon. Police detained the protesters, who gathered at the site despite the government removing Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest venues. The protests highlighted a visible separation between CJP and AISA, which had been associated with the party during the NEET movement. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi hosted a tea meeting at his residence to discuss the Opposition’s future course of action. Their joint appearance was intended to underline the INDIA bloc’s unity and demonstrate that its constituents had an opportunity to present their views. The CPI called for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, while the RJD alleged that there was a conspiracy to undermine democratic institutions. The Trinamool Congress argued that free and fair elections were not possible while Kumar remained in office. Supriya Sule described the SIR exercise as an attack on the Constitution, while the Samajwadi Party reiterated its support for Opposition unity over the demand for the CEC’s resignation and allegations of vote theft. Union Home Minister Amit Shah responded to the Opposition’s accusations, citing the BJP’s electoral performance in Gujarat to challenge claims that the party’s victories were attributable to the SIR exercise. He also accused the Congress of dismissing the popularity of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi by attributing electoral outcomes to changes in electoral rolls, and urged the party to introspect. The political debate has intensified following recent by-elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, in which the Congress failed to win a seat. The BJP also defeated the Congress in the by-election to Assam’s Nagaon Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress’s prolonged absence from power in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has also featured in the wider political argument over its electoral performance. Shah’s remarks indicate that the government is not inclined to concede to the Opposition’s demand over Gyanesh Kumar’s position. With neither side showing signs of retreating, the dispute has developed into a broader political and constitutional confrontation. Alongside street protests, the INDIA bloc has pursued a legal challenge. The Election Commission, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two other Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, were named as respondents. The objections include an incorrect entry for a respondent in the case-listing form and the absence of signatures from nine petitioners on the vakalatnama, the document authorising lawyers to represent them. The Registry also flagged an unclear photocopy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card and sought a clearer copy. Other shortcomings included missing pages, documents reproduced at an inadequate size and the absence of colour copies of certain original documents. A further objection concerned the naming of the Election Commission and the three Election Commissioners in their personal capacities. The Registry’s objections concern procedural and filing requirements and do not, by themselves, constitute a judicial ruling on the petition’s merits.
The meeting lasted around an hour, after which leaders from the participating parties appeared together before the media. In today’s episode of DNA, Rahul Sinha, Managing Editor of Zee News, conducted a detailed analysis of the continuing protests, the INDIA bloc’s future strategy, the BJP’s response and the legal challenges facing the Opposition’s petition in the Supreme Court. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) staged a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Monday, with spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka leading supporters in demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
