India's Opposition Prepares Mega Delhi Rally Demanding Election Chief's Resignation

Tens of thousands of people are expected to gather in the Indian capital on Sunday for a mega opposition rally demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and broader electoral reforms. The rally, called by the main opposition Congress party, is set to begin around noon at the historic Ramlila Maidan grounds, with leaders claiming turnout could reach a million people. Several top leaders of the Congress-led INDIA alliance have said they will attend, and the influential Gen Z-led pressure group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has also pledged its support, though it remains unclear whether its senior leaders will appear in person. The rally comes amid growing criticism of a voter-list revision exercise, known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which has removed 130 million names from the draft rolls across India. The Election Commission of India (ECI) says the exercise is intended to update the voters' list by purging names of people who have died or moved away from their registered addresses. Opposition parties allege the revision could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by removing eligible voters from the rolls, and they accuse the Chief Election Commissioner and the BJP of "vote chori (theft)". Both the BJP and the ECI have denied the allegations. The controversy intensified in September, when The Indian Express reported that Gyanesh Kumar made key decisions related to the exercise without the agreement of the two other election commissioners, who had raised objections on more than a dozen occasions. The Election Commission responded that differences of opinion were normal in any institution and did not affect its functioning. Protests seeking the CEC's resignation have continued for weeks. Last month, Congress MP and leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi led tens of thousands of protesters in a march from Connaught Place in central Delhi to the Supreme Court. "The march was just the trailer," a party leader told the BBC, adding that Sunday's rally would be several times bigger. Ahead of the event, Gandhi said the protest was against "the demolition of Indian democracy" and that all political and non-political participants were welcome. "There is huge anger, huge emotional pain because millions are being disenfranchised," he said, framing the movement as a defence of the Constitution and the right to vote. Delhi police have granted permission for the rally subject to several conditions. According to media reports, the event must end by 5pm, CCTV cameras must be installed at the venue, and no marches will be allowed outside the designated protest site. Authorities have deployed thousands of police and paramilitary personnel across the city, including on roads leading to Ramlila Maidan. The opposition, which has spent days preparing for the rally, has accused the government of trying to stop people from travelling to Delhi to take part. "Don't worry about the police, don't worry about lathis [batons] - the BJP will not have the guts to try any of their antics," Gandhi wrote on X. Concerns about policing are running high. On 10 October, thousands of security personnel were deployed and large parts of the city were shut down to thwart CJP protests against the CEC. All of the top CJP leaders were detained, and many demonstrators were beaten and dragged through the streets as police broke up the demonstrations. BBC reporters covering the protests saw police dragging away protesters and using batons on some of them. The planned rally has also divided traders in Chandni Chowk, one of Delhi's oldest and busiest markets, less than a kilometre from the venue. Earlier this week, one group of traders said the protest could hurt business during the festive season, coming just a week before Diwali. A rival group backed Gandhi's rally and criticised the BJP for holding a march through the market on Thursday, arguing that disruption had done more damage to the festive season.