Political tensions over the Election Commission’s voter-list revision exercise intensified on Thursday, with the Opposition stepping up protests across Delhi and Bengaluru and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The latest confrontation came a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several INDIA bloc leaders were detained during protests in Delhi. The Opposition has accused the Election Commission of irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and has said the protests will continue until Kumar resigns.
The dispute has now moved beyond Parliament and political meetings, turning into a wider street protest. Congress has called for demonstrations at the state, district and block levels, describing the day as a protest against what it says is the handling of the electoral roll revision process.
In Delhi, the INDIA bloc’s protest at Jantar Mantar saw a heavy police presence. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi were among the leaders detained for the second consecutive day. Police action followed after protesters continued their demonstration despite restrictions and attempts to clear the area. The leaders were later released.
The Delhi Police has also registered multiple FIRs in connection with Wednesday’s protest. The cases include allegations of assault on police personnel involving Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and other Congress leaders. The Opposition has rejected the action as an attempt to discourage its campaign against the Election Commission.
At the centre of the political dispute is the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, or SIR. The exercise is intended to verify and update voter lists, but Opposition parties have raised concerns about the removal of names and the process used to establish voter eligibility.
The Election Commission and the BJP have rejected allegations of political bias. The stated objective of the revision is to identify duplicate, ineligible or otherwise incorrect entries and ensure that electoral rolls remain accurate.
The Opposition, however, argues that genuine voters could be excluded from electoral rolls if the verification process is not transparent or if people are unable to provide the required documents. It has demanded greater accountability from the Election Commission and a review of the process.
The issue has also triggered protests in Bengaluru. The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) organised a People’s Tribunal at Freedom Park on Thursday to highlight complaints from people who claim they were affected by the SIR exercise.
Actor-activist Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee joined CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convener Ashutosh Ranka at the Bengaluru event. Participants were expected to hear testimonies from people who claimed that their names had been wrongly removed from electoral rolls.
The tribunal was followed by a symbolic ‘chappal protest’, which organisers said was also linked to concerns around women’s safety. The unusual form of protest has drawn attention online and added a different dimension to the wider campaign against the SIR process and the Election Commission.
The Youth Congress has separately held a torchlight protest in Bengaluru, demanding Kumar’s resignation. The demonstrations show how the issue is spreading beyond Delhi, with opposition groups and civil society activists using different forms of public protest to keep the voter-list controversy in focus.
Security arrangements have meanwhile been tightened around the Chief Election Commissioner. Kumar already has Z-plus security, and additional personnel have reportedly been deployed around his residence following new threat intelligence and continuing protests. The Centre has also deployed a large number of Central Armed Police Forces in Delhi between October 8 and October 12 to assist local authorities with security and crowd management.
The escalating protests have put the Election Commission under increasing political scrutiny. For the Opposition, the dispute is about more than an administrative exercise. It says the integrity of voter lists is directly connected to the credibility of elections and the democratic process.
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to address Opposition concerns, while Congress has said it will continue its campaign until there is accountability. The BJP and the Election Commission have maintained that the allegations are politically motivated and that the electoral roll revision is aimed at improving the accuracy of voter lists.
The protests are also testing the unity of the INDIA bloc. Several Opposition parties have participated in the campaign, although differences have emerged over strategy and participation. The Congress leadership is seeking to turn the SIR issue into a larger national political campaign focused on electoral transparency and voter rights.
With demonstrations continuing in Delhi and Bengaluru, the confrontation shows little sign of easing. The Opposition is preparing further protests, while security agencies are keeping a close watch on the situation.
The immediate focus will remain on whether the Election Commission responds to the Opposition’s demands, how the SIR exercise progresses and whether more political parties join the campaign. What began as a dispute over voter-list revision has now become a broader confrontation over electoral integrity, voter rights and the credibility of India’s election process.
