Opposition rally in Delhi presses for election chief’s resignation

Tens of thousands of people have begun gathering in Delhi for a major opposition rally demanding the resignation of the country's chief election commissioner and reforms to the electoral system.

The rally, organized by the main opposition Congress party, was scheduled to start at noon (06:30 GMT) on the Ramlila Maidan grounds, but had not yet begun at the time of reporting.

Several leaders of the Congress‑led INDIA opposition alliance are expected to attend, and the Gen Z‑led pressure group Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has pledged its support.

This demonstration follows weeks of protests over a voter‑list revision exercise that removed 130 million names from draft electoral rolls.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) says the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise aims to update the voters' list by purging names of people who have died or moved away from their registered addresses.

Opposition parties allege the exercise could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by removing eligible voters, accusing 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 after The Indian Express reported that CEC Gyanesh Kumar made key decisions on the exercise without the agreement of the two other election commissioners, who had raised objections on more than a dozen occasions.

Protests have continued, with the opposition, the CJP and student groups organising demonstrations in Delhi and other Indian cities.

On Saturday, opposition leaders staged a symbolic impeachment of Kumar at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence in Delhi.

The mock parliamentary session, presided over by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, featured accusations that the election chief was “conspiring to steal elections” and deliberately removing 130 million voters from the rolls.

Kharge moved a symbolic motion seeking Kumar's removal, accusing him of undermining the electoral process and committing an act of “treason against the nation and the Constitution of India.”

Several individuals whose names had been removed from the electoral rolls during the revision exercise also attended the event.

The Election Commission said differences of opinion are normal in any institution and do not affect its functioning, but concerns over the revision process persist.