Protests demanding the resignation of India’s top election official entered their third day on Sunday, with thousands gathering in Mumbai and the national capital, New Delhi. Demonstrators accuse Election Commission of India (ECI) Chief Gyanesh Kumar of overseeing revisions to voter rolls that have removed millions of names, an act they claim is designed to disenfranchise supporters of the opposition and benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
In Mumbai, marches led by prominent opposition figures Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray drew large crowds waving Indian flags. Raj Thackeray addressed the demonstrators, criticizing the ruling party for its use of power. “It’s the people of this country who should decide who sits in power and who sits in opposition, not the election commission,” he told the crowd.
Meanwhile, security forces in New Delhi imposed strict measures to curb the demonstrations. Police detained dozens of individuals over the past two days, transporting them away by bus. While some detainees were released on Friday and Saturday, authorities filed cases against others for violating orders that banned mass gatherings in central areas.
The ECI has denied allegations of political bias, stating that the voter-roll updates are intended to eliminate duplicate, deceased, or ineligible entries to safeguard electoral integrity. On Friday, the commission instructed officials to register any eligible voters who were inadvertently left off the rolls.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has not yet publicly commented on the calls for his resignation or the ongoing unrest. However, further protests are anticipated in the coming days.
An alliance of opposition parties plans to march to the election commission office on Tuesday under the banner of “saving democracy.” Additionally, the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced a major rally in New Delhi for October 10. Abhijeet Dipke, head of the CJP, posted on social media: “Mumbai is out on the streets again for free and fair elections! Solidarity with all the protesters. All Indians need to come together. It’s now or never!”
Detaining protesters in Delhi seems excessive. Freedom to demonstrate is a basic right that shouldn’t be curtailed so heavily.
Concerned about the scale of voter removals. If legitimate citizens are disenfranchised, democracy suffers regardless of who wins.