Delhi Deploys 25,000 Police, Closes Metro Stations Ahead of CJP Voter-List Protest

Delhi authorities deployed about 25,000 police and paramilitary personnel, closed entry and exit gates at 57 metro stations, cancelled multiple long-distance trains and suspended mobile internet within four kilometres of Jantar Mantar on the eve of a planned protest on Saturday, 10 October 2026. The demonstration, organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), seeks the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The Election Commission states that the revision removes duplicate and ineligible entries and aims to prevent foreign illegal immigrants from voting. Critics, including opposition parties and CJP, allege that the process has struck more than 130 million names from the rolls and that decisions have favoured the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. An Indian Express investigation published in September reported that the other two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, formally objected at least 14 times in ten months to decisions related to the revision, including changes to Form 6 and the handling of voter data in certain states.

Delhi Police denied permission for the Jantar Mantar gathering, citing insufficient notice (the application arrived three days before the date rather than the required ten) and prior non-compliance during a July protest. The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre and police not to impose a complete prohibition on metro or train services, observing that authorities should not use a hammer to kill a fly. Despite the order, many restrictions remained in place. Roads around the site were barricaded. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said the group would proceed “come what may” and that he was prepared for detention.

Several parties indicated they would join or support the protest, among them the Aam Aadmi Party, CPM, CPI, CPI(ML) and All India Forward Bloc. The Congress distanced itself; Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to be in Chennai. Opposition MPs met President Droupadi Murmu on Friday to brief her on the dispute. CJP claimed that at least 10,000 people had already been detained across India in the days before the rally. Overnight and early Saturday, police detained hundreds more near Connaught Place and other approaches.

The Special Intensive Revision began last year. The Election Commission maintains that major decisions, including the revision itself, were taken unanimously by the full commission. Opposition figures and CJP argue that the scale of deletions can affect election outcomes and that the process lacks sufficient transparency and appeal mechanisms. The protest forms part of a sequence of actions that followed the July student demonstrations and the September reporting on internal objections within the commission.

By Saturday morning the capital remained under heavy security. Metro stations on the Yellow, Red, Blue, Pink, Violet and Magenta lines were among those with closed gates. Train arrivals at New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations were curtailed. The practical effect has been to make travel into central Delhi more difficult for residents and for people attempting to reach the designated protest site. Whether the gathering proceeds at the scale organisers hoped, or is contained by the deployment, will be measured in the hours ahead.

The underlying dispute concerns the integrity of the electoral roll and the authority of the three-member Election Commission. The Indian Express reporting established that two commissioners recorded objections; the commission’s public position is that the revision is a routine clean-up. The security measures on 9–10 October show how the government and police have chosen to respond to the call for a public demonstration on that disagreement.