INDIA Bloc Holds Rally at Ramlila Maidan Demanding CEC Resignation

Leaders of the INDIA bloc held a rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on 1 November 2026. The event followed a march from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction under the slogan Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao. Participants demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, addressed the gathering. He described the alleged deletion of names from voter lists as an anti-national act and treason. Other speakers included Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Mehbooba Mufti, Farooq Abdullah and representatives of CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML). Flags of multiple parties appeared together on the stage and in the crowd.

Organisers estimated attendance as high as one million. Delhi Police put the figure near 50,000. The ground was divided into 14 zones. More than 4,000 police personnel and additional Central Armed Police Forces companies were deployed along the route and at the venue. High-definition cameras and drone surveillance operated throughout the day.

The procession moved in open vehicles. Leaders assembled first at Mallikarjun Kharge's residence before proceeding to Minto Road. Crowds gathered along approach roads as well as inside the maidan. Placards and slogans focused on the SIR exercise and on electronic voting machines. Some speakers raised additional issues including unemployment, inflation and the rights of marginalised groups.

The Bharatiya Janata Party organised a separate event in West Delhi on the same day to commemorate victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra later stated that 40 percent of the Ramlila Maidan space remained vacant and that thousands of chairs were empty in the afternoon. He challenged the opposition's turnout claims.

The rally is the latest in a series of opposition actions focused on the Election Commission. The Special Intensive Revision has been under way in several states. Opposition parties allege systematic deletion of legitimate voters. The Commission has defended the exercise as a routine update of rolls. No independent audit of the scale of deletions has been published by a third party as of the day of the rally.

Attendance figures remain disputed. The presence of leaders from 21 parties on one stage marks a public display of coordination among the INDIA partners. The march route and security arrangements followed standard patterns for large political gatherings in central Delhi. The immediate demand is Kumar's resignation. The longer-term political effect will depend on whether the alliance maintains the same level of joint action through the remaining state elections.

No major incident was reported during the event. The roads in central Delhi experienced congestion. The rally concluded without an announced next date for a similar gathering. The Election Commission has not issued a public response to the specific allegations made from the stage on 1 November.