NEW DELHI, October 8, 2026 — The political confrontation over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls escalated sharply this week as the INDIA bloc mounted sustained street protests in the national capital, demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. What began as a parliamentary march has rapidly expanded into a multi-state agitation, with detentions, FIRs, a bandh in Odisha, and civil society tribunals adding fresh layers to an already charged dispute.
On Tuesday, October 6, more than 300 MPs from the INDIA alliance — including leaders from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, RJD, Left parties, and even the Biju Janata Dal — marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters at Nirvachan Sadan. Police stopped the procession short of its destination. In a dramatic turn, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra forced their way into the adjacent Akashvani Bhawan premises and staged an eight-hour sit-in under a tree. Dozens of lawmakers and workers were eventually detained. Rahul Gandhi later described every FIR against him as “a medal,” declaring his personal target was 100 such cases.
The following day, October 7, the Opposition returned in greater numbers. After a lunch meeting hosted by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge at a restaurant on Janpath, lawmakers boarded buses for a planned protest at Jantar Mantar. Delhi Police, deploying a heavy force estimated at around 5,000 personnel, halted the convoy at the Janpath-Ashoka Road intersection. A prolonged standoff ensued. Protesters, including several women MPs, sat on the road; Priyanka Gandhi was seen lying down clutching a copy of the Constitution. Around 91 people, including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, were detained and later released in the evening.
On Thursday, Delhi Police registered at least three FIRs against Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for allegedly assaulting police personnel, obstructing official work, and related offences during Wednesday’s confrontation. The cases add to an earlier FIR linked to the Akashvani Bhawan sit-in. Security outside the Chief Election Commissioner’s residence has been strengthened amid the rising temperature of the protests.
Beyond Delhi, the agitation has spread. In Odisha, the INDIA bloc called a statewide bandh demanding both Kumar’s resignation and action against a state minister. In Bihar, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav led a march towards Raj Bhavan in Patna. In Bengaluru, civil society groups, including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), organised a “People’s Tribunal” on the SIR process at Freedom Park on Thursday. YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, actor-activist Prakash Raj, and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke participated, hearing from voters who claim their names were wrongfully deleted. A “Chappal Protest” on women’s safety followed the tribunal.
At the heart of the controversy is the Special Intensive Revision, a nationwide exercise launched by the Election Commission to clean electoral rolls of deceased, duplicate, and ineligible voters. Opposition parties and several civil society organisations allege that the process has been conducted in a unilateral and opaque manner, resulting in the deletion of tens of millions of names — estimates cited by critics range above 13 crore across multiple phases. An investigative report by The Indian Express in late September claimed that two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had formally recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions taken under Kumar’s leadership, including changes to forms and the handling of voter data. The Election Commission has rejected allegations of impropriety, maintaining that the SIR is a necessary administrative exercise to ensure the integrity of the electoral rolls.
Opposition leaders have framed the campaign as a defence of democracy itself. Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly alleged “vote chori” (vote theft) and insisted the protests will continue until Kumar resigns. “There is nothing that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah can do that will stop us,” he said after Wednesday’s detention. The INDIA bloc has also sought a meeting with President Droupadi Murmu on the issue.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission have dismissed the protests as political theatre aimed at undermining a legitimate institutional process. BJP leaders have accused the Opposition of spreading misinformation and attempting to polarise the electorate ahead of future polls.
As of Thursday, the standoff shows no immediate sign of resolution. Further mobilisations are planned, including expanded Congress programmes at the block and district levels and a larger CJP demonstration in Delhi later this month. The episode has placed the functioning of the Election Commission under intense public and political scrutiny at a time when several states are preparing for elections.
