India deployed thousands of police officers and paramilitary personnel in New Delhi on Saturday and restricted transport services ahead of mass demonstrations demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief over alleged irregularities in voter registration.
The protests, organised by the youth-led Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), follow weeks of opposition mobilisation over allegations of misconduct during a nationwide revision of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The controversy intensified after a newspaper investigation last month raised concerns about the process. The ECI has rejected allegations of wrongdoing, saying its special intensive revision was intended to remove duplicate registrations and ineligible voters.
Opposition parties and other critics argue that the exercise could disenfranchise eligible voters, particularly from marginalised and minority communities, potentially benefiting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Security forces established multiple layers of yellow metal barricades on roads leading to Jantar Mantar, a designated protest area in the capital. Police did not authorise rallies at the site for the weekend.
Authorities also ordered the closure of dozens of metro stations and cancelled several trains travelling to New Delhi. However, India’s Supreme Court said on Friday that some train services must continue and that metro stations should not be closed under a blanket restriction.
Protest organisers allege mass detentions
The demonstrations are widely viewed as a revival of the CJP’s large-scale mobilisation in July, which resulted in the resignation of the education minister following an examination scandal.
This time, protesters are demanding the resignation of ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar.
CJP leader Abhijeet Dipke criticised the transport restrictions, accusing the government of disrupting the lives of ordinary residents rather than allowing peaceful demonstrations.
“The dictator would rather shut down the entire national capital and inconvenience millions of citizens than allow a peaceful protest at a designated protest site,” Dipke wrote on X.
The party, which emerged online as a satirical political movement in May, has also accused authorities of intimidating supporters ahead of Saturday’s rally.
It claimed that at least 10,000 people, including demonstrators travelling to Delhi by train, had been detained across the country. The Hindu newspaper reported that some people detained in the central state of Madhya Pradesh were taken to hotels. Police had not responded to the party’s broader allegations of mass detentions.
“You can detain the people, you cannot detain the movement,” said Neha Bora, who has become one of the leading figures in the protests.
Dispute over voter registration
The nationwide voter-roll revision, which began in 2025, has resulted in more than 133 million names being excluded from draft electoral lists. The exclusions include duplicate entries and registrations belonging to people who have died.
The ECI says the exercise is designed to identify fraudulent registrations and prevent undocumented foreign immigrants from voting.
Critics contend that the process has disproportionately affected vulnerable communities. BJP members have repeatedly alleged that undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh have fraudulently entered Indian electoral rolls.
The dispute presents another challenge for Modi, 76, during his third term in office, as opposition groups continue to question the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
