The Tatva

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, November 1, as the Opposition INDIA bloc staged a massive demonstration demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in voter lists. The turnout was reported by the Associated Press.

The ‘Chalo Dilli’ mobilisation brought together Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML) Liberation. Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, MA Baby, D Raja and Dipankar Bhattacharya were among the leaders who joined the show of strength. Leaders travelled in an open bus before marching towards the venue.

At the centre of the protest was the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition leaders alleged that the exercise was removing eligible voters and benefiting the ruling BJP. Supporters, including youth and student groups, carried placards and raised slogans demanding Kumar’s departure.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accused the government of targeting the voting rights of women, young people and Dalits. “Till Gyanesh Kumar does not go, we will keep fighting,” he told the gathering. Akhilesh Yadav also alleged that voter-list deletions could affect the BJP’s own supporters.

The Election Commission and the government have denied political bias, saying the revision aims to remove duplicate and ineligible registrations. Thousands of security personnel were deployed around the rally, with CCTV cameras and drones monitoring the gathering.