INDIA bloc leaders march through central Delhi to Ramlila Maidan rally, demanding election chief's removal over voter-roll revision
Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav joined the 'Chalo Dilli' march from Minto Road to Ramlila Maidan, a day after the bloc staged a symbolic 'public impeachment' of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter deletions.
Senior leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc took to the streets of central Delhi on Sunday afternoon, marching from Minto Road towards Ramlila Maidan for a mega rally against alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls, hours after supporters had begun gathering at the venue in the morning. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were among those who travelled in an open bus from Kharge's residence to the march's starting point before joining supporters on foot.
The march, billed as "Chalo Dilli" and carrying the slogan "Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao" — save the vote, save the nation — is the centrepiece of the opposition's day of protest against the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of voter lists. The alliance alleges that the revision exercise has led to large-scale deletions of genuine voters from electoral rolls, a charge the Election Commission has rejected in the past. The bloc is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and its leaders say the Delhi mobilisation is meant to carry that demand to the national stage.
Rahul Gandhi had urged Delhi residents on Sunday morning to assemble at Connaught Place at noon and march together to Ramlila Maidan, or to join the rally directly at the venue. "Delhi, get ready! Save the Vote, Save the Nation. Come to Connaught Place, let's march together. Or meet directly at Ramlila Maidan — but you must come," he wrote in a social media post. By early afternoon, supporters were reported to be streaming towards the ground, where a large tricolour canopy had been erected over the main stage for senior leaders and a second stage set up for representatives of the alliance's state units.
The march follows a symbolic step the bloc took on Saturday, when it staged what it called a "public impeachment" of the chief election commissioner. Leaders said a motion was adopted unanimously by a show of hands, levelling six charges against Kumar, including conspiring with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to steal elections, deleting 13.2 crore voters through the SIR exercise, and acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided over the proceedings, sitting in what organisers described as "Nehru's chair". The exercise has no constitutional force — a chief election commissioner can only be removed through a parliamentary process — but the bloc presented it as a political statement of its case against the poll body.
Delhi Police said on Sunday morning that no formal permission had been sought for the march itself, although the rally at Ramlila Maidan was permitted between 10 am and 5 pm. Police deployed about 10,000 personnel in the morning, according to earlier reports, and the Statesman reported that more than 4,000 police personnel along with Central Armed Police Forces companies remained deployed for security and crowd management along the march route and at the venue. Traffic restrictions and diversions were announced across parts of central Delhi from 10 am to 5 pm, covering stretches around ITO, Delhi Gate, Rajghat, Ajmeri Gate and Turkman Gate, and roads including Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Jawaharlal Nehru Marg, Minto Road and Desh Bandhu Gupta Road.
As a preventive measure, Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita has been enforced across Delhi districts, with gatherings prohibited at locations including Jantar Mantar and the Election Commission of India's office. Overnight stay at the Ramlila Maidan venue is not permitted. The contrast between the two sides' crowd expectations has itself become part of the story: the alliance has said it expects a massive turnout of up to 10 lakh people, while police officials put the expected figure at around 50,000, noting that the ground can hold 45,000 to 50,000 people when empty and 30,000 to 40,000 once chairs, enclosures and passageways are in place.
The rally has also drawn political pushback. BJP national spokesperson C. R. Kesavan criticised Rahul Gandhi on Sunday for holding the rally on the anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, accusing the Congress leader of hurting the sentiments of the Sikh community by choosing the date. Traders in central Delhi had earlier warned of disruption: the Chamber of Trade and Industry estimated that up to 10 lakh people and 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles could converge in the area, while the Federation of Sadar Bazar Traders Association urged Gandhi to defer the rally until after November 10, citing an estimated 25,000 crore rupees in trade during the Dhanteras-to-Diwali festive period. Gandhi responded on Saturday by urging people travelling to Delhi for the rally to support local businesses by shopping at small stores.
Meanwhile, the BJP staged a counter-march in Rohtak, underlining how the voter-roll controversy has become a live political contest well beyond Delhi. The SIR exercise, under which election officials have been re-verifying voter lists, has already fuelled sharp exchanges between the government and the opposition in recent months, with the opposition alleging deletions targeted at its supporters and the BJP accusing the opposition of undermining a legitimate administrative exercise.
What happens next will depend on how the day unfolds on the ground and in the political arena. The opposition hopes the images of a united march by its top leaders — from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav — will keep the voter-roll issue at the centre of public debate ahead of upcoming elections. The government and the Election Commission, for their part, are expected to restate their position that the revision is a routine, lawful exercise. Any clashes, detentions or dramatic moments along the route could sharpen the confrontation, while a peaceful, well-attended rally would let the bloc claim momentum; either way, the SIR row now looks set to remain one of the dominant themes of the political season.
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