Amit Shah Leads BJP Padayatra in Hyderabad Against Opposition SIR Campaign

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is leading a BJP padayatra in Hyderabad on 2 November. The march, organised under the slogan Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao, is set to start at 3 pm from the Dr Babu Jagjivan Ram statue opposite Nizam College at Basheerbagh, pass through Abids and end at Mozamjahi Market around 6 pm. Shah is expected to address a gathering at the market.

The padayatra is the Telangana BJP’s response to the INDIA bloc’s campaign against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have claimed that the exercise has removed large numbers of voters. BJP leaders say the revision removes names of deceased persons, migrants and duplicate entries and has been conducted periodically since 1952. State BJP president N Ramchander Rao said Hyderabad was chosen to counter the Congress narrative in a Congress-ruled state.

Shah offered prayers at the Bhagyalakshmi Temple near Charminar earlier in the day. Union Coal Minister G Kishan Reddy, Minister of State Bandi Sanjay and Ramchander Rao are participating. Traffic restrictions are in place in central Hyderabad between 1 pm and 7 pm. Party workers and members of the public have been asked to join the march.

The programme follows the INDIA bloc rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on 1 November, where leaders including Rahul Gandhi called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged vote theft. Shah’s march is the BJP’s first major public response in a southern state. Security has been arranged along the route.

BJP leaders have accused the Congress of targeting constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission. The Hyderabad event is part of a wider series of programmes. A similar padyatra is planned in Karnal, Haryana, on 5 November. No major disruption was reported in the hours before the march began.

The Special Intensive Revision is an Election Commission process to update electoral rolls. Opposition parties have described large-scale deletions as vote chori. The BJP has rejected that characterisation and has organised counter-events in several states. The Hyderabad padayatra is the most visible of those responses on 2 November.

Local arrangements include route inspection by senior BJP leaders on 1 November. The party has put up banners and cut-outs along the path. The three-hour march is intended to demonstrate public support for the revision process and to reject the opposition’s claims. Shah’s presence elevates the event from a state-level programme to a national counter-narrative.