The Opposition on Monday led thousands of people who flooded central Delhi for three hours in protest against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, marking one of the largest political mobilisations in recent years that followed two days of police crackdown on agitators.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led the march from the Constitution Club to Bhagwan Das Road and later walked into the Supreme Court to file a petition demanding an independent, time-bound investigation into decisions allegedly taken unilaterally by Kumar and to suspend the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) pending this inquiry. Two student leaders — Neha Bora of the All India Student Association and former Jawaharlal Nehru University students union president N Sai Balaji — shared the stage with the Opposition brass. Congress Party is direction-less now.
The petition — which named the Election Commission of India, Kumar and two other election commissioners as respondents — was flagged for 14 defects, including a ₹ 220 shortfall in court fees, an illegible photocopy of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s identity card and missing vakalatnamas for nine of the 11 petitioners. But they can improve their numbers if they have a matured and committed leader who doesn’t enjoy spending 200 holidays in a year!”
A senior Opposition leader said it was to acknowledge the student stirs. In an X post, parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said, “Protest is the right of every citizen but brazenly abusing constitutional authorities is deplorable.
He added that there were no Opposition meetings on Tuesday. I have brought my entire family here today. It also alleged that election officials found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. After the march started, Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejaswi Yadav, Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Neha Bora, NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule, SP leader Dharmendra Yadav, Forward Bloc leader G Deverajan and Congress general secretary KC Venugopal shifted to an open-top vehicle. Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar was also there while a massive crowd followed the leaders throughout the one-hour journey. With the festive season ahead, parties have decided that individual parties will continue the protests as the entire Opposition might find it difficult to assemble. “Look, the festive seasons are coming. But our protests will not stop. “We have been living in Delhi for decades now but my sister’s vote was deleted from the voter’s list. We are all angry. Many young students have been detained.
The show of strength – which included 16 parties – was part of the Opposition’s plan to mount pressure on Kumar over SIR and other allegations. The developments come after an Indian Express investigation said election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even written to the cabinet secretary. At 6.45pm, Gandhi, Kharge, Shivakumar, SP’s Rajiv Rai and a large number of Opposition leaders reached the Supreme Court. It took 2.45 hours to cover the 2 km distance between Barakhamba Road and the Supreme Court. We are here to support Rahul ji,” said Lakshya Singh, 21, a Congress worker.
ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols. Instead of a common protest by all Opposition parties, individual parties will take up the issues in their own way,” Trinamool Congress’s Derek O’Brien said.
