Protesters in India are demanding the resignation of Election Commission of India (ECI) chief Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that recent voter-roll revisions have removed millions of eligible voters to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The protests, which began on Friday, have seen thousands of youth and opposition supporters rallying in cities including Mumbai and New Delhi for three consecutive days.
On Sunday, thousands marched in Mumbai, led by opposition leaders Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray, waving Indian flags and calling for Kumar's resignation. In New Delhi, protesters gathered in the early evening, with some being detained by police as they arrived. Over the past two days, police have attempted to prevent large gatherings, detaining dozens of individuals and taking them away by bus. Some detainees were released later, but cases were registered against others for violating orders against mass gatherings.
Raj Thackeray addressed the crowd in Mumbai, stating, “I just want to tell the ruling party this much … We are angry about how you are wielding that power. It’s the people of this country who should decide who sits in power and who sits in opposition, not the election commission.”
The ECI has stated that the voter-roll revision aims to remove duplicate, deceased, or ineligible entries to maintain electoral integrity, and it has directed officials to register eligible voters who were inadvertently omitted. Gyanesh Kumar has not publicly responded to the calls for his resignation or the ongoing protests.
Looking ahead, an alliance of opposition parties plans to hold further protests to “save democracy,” including a march to the election commission office on Tuesday. Additionally, the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced a major rally in New Delhi on October 10. Abhijeet Dipke, chief of the CJP, expressed solidarity with the protesters in a social media post, urging all Indians to unite for free and fair elections.