Tens of thousands of supporters of the opposition INDIA bloc gathered at Ramlila Maidan in central Delhi on Sunday to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him and the governing BJP of using the Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls, which has removed 130 million names from draft lists, to disenfranchise eligible voters. Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge attended alongside Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav and Tejashwi Yadav, a day after opposition leaders held a symbolic mock impeachment of Kumar at Kharge’s residence, a proceeding with no legal standing. The Election Commission and the BJP deny manipulation, saying the revision removes people who have died, moved away or are otherwise ineligible, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the opposition of trying to create chaos, while thousands of police and paramilitary personnel were deployed and the rally was permitted only at the designated site, required to end by 5 p.m.
Update from the morning edition: Reuters reported the march was led by Rahul Gandhi, with opposition leaders travelling in an open top jeep from central Delhi to the rally site, and that the protests followed a September Indian Express report that Kumar’s two deputies had raised internal concerns about the revision, registration procedures and digital systems. Organisers had predicted up to a million attendees against police planning for around 50,000. The deployment of 270 Central Armed Police Forces companies in Delhi has been extended to November 16, and opposition leaders say they will present their evidence to President Droupadi Murmu and continue protests in the states. The resignation demand remains a political demand; removal requires a formal parliamentary process, and the next general election is not due until 2029.