Tens of thousands gathered in Delhi for a rally demanding the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner over a controversial revision of voter lists.
Organised by the opposition INDIA bloc and led by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party, the protest drew many of the alliance’s most prominent leaders in a show of strength against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
Protesters waved flags and chanted “Save the vote, save the country” and “Vote thief, give up power”.
It was the latest in a series of protests over electoral roll revision that the opposition says has removed eligible voters to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP and the Election Commission deny the allegations.
The crowds gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a sprawling ground in central Delhi known for hosting major political and cultural events. Some protesters sang and danced to patriotic Bollywood songs, while others waited beneath a large canopy in the colours of the Indian flag to hear opposition leaders speak.
Gandhi and several senior opposition leaders arrived at the venue in an open jeep, travelling through crowds of cheering supporters.
The event was also attended by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, alongside leaders of regional parties such as Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Mehbooba Mufti, Supriya Sule and Tejashwi Yadav.
Addressing the crowds, Rahul Gandhi said those gathered had sent a message to Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“This is not the voice of a single political party or of politicians. It is the voice of India’s youth, women, farmers and workers,” he said.
“We will not allow democracy to be destroyed in India. We will not allow the constitution to be destroyed.”
Other opposition leaders echoed Gandhi’s criticism of the Election Commission. Congress president Kharge said the alliance would continue its campaign until Kumar resigned, while Banerjee pledged to keep fighting against what she described as threats to democracy.
Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Sunday, senior BJP leader and federal minister JP Nadda accused the opposition of trying to create unrest and destabilise the government under the guise of defending democracy.
He described the rally as a “calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy – in the name of democracy”.
At the centre of the dispute is an exercise known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which has resulted in more than 130 million names being removed from India’s draft electoral rolls.
The Election Commission says the exercise is intended to remove duplicate registrations and the names of people who have died, moved away or are otherwise ineligible to vote. It says eligible voters who have been wrongly excluded can seek to have their names restored.
But opposition parties allege that the process is removing legitimate voters and could benefit the governing BJP in future elections.
The controversy deepened in September when The Indian Express newspaper reported that Kumar had made key decisions about the revision despite repeated objections from the two other election commissioners.
The poll panel said differences of opinion were normal in any institution and did not affect its functioning.
Sunday’s rally followed weeks of protests over the voter-list revision, including demonstrations by student groups and the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
Last month, Gandhi led tens of thousands on a march from central Delhi’s Connaught Place to the Supreme Court, demanding Kumar’s resignation.
The CJP also backed Sunday’s rally but chose not to participate. Its founder Abhijeet Dipke said the group wanted to maintain its independence from established political parties.