INDIA bloc protest LIVE: Opposition's mega march to ECI headquarters against Gyanesh Kumar today; RAF deployed
INDIA bloc protest LIVE: Protests against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is spilling to the fifth day today with INDIA bloc's planned march towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the alleged irregularities in poll body decisions.
INDIA bloc protest LIVE: The growing protests against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar is entering the fifth day today with opposition alliance INDIA bloc's planned march towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the alleged irregularities in poll body decisions, particularly the Special Intensive Revision exercise or the clean-up drive of electoral rolls....Read More
The protests mainly began on October 2 with Opposition parties and civil society groups giving a call to gather over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar | Key points
-Since October 2, the protests have met hundreds of security personnel, layers of barricades and other restrictions along with detentions. The protesters include a united delegation of activists, including All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora, and civil society members Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Nikhil De, and Nandita Narain. They had visited the Parliament Street police station over the protest call at Jantar Mantar last Monday but were denied permission.
-The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), whose previous protest at Jantar Mantar in July this year against the alleged irregularities in examinations led to the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, launched its protest parallelly on October 2 at Shivaji Park in Maharashtra's Mumbai.
-CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced a "mobilisation" on October 10 from Jantar Mantar, The CJP on Monday sought to play down its recent sparring with sections of the Congress, welcoming the INDIA bloc's proposed protest on Tuesday and saying its own October 10 mobilisation should be seen as a broader call by the youth rather than that of a particular organisation.
-Amid protests and growing calls for suspension of the CEC, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to pass an interim order restraining Gyanesh Kumar from functioning over allegations that he took several decisions unilaterally despite objections from the two other election commissioners (ECs), saying it could not proceed on “assumptions” without first verifying the facts.
-Assistant commissioner of police (Connaught Place) Vivek Bhagat was promoted to additional deputy commissioner of police in a routine order issued by the Delhi home department on Monday, but the order was later put on hold on the officer’s request. This comes two days after he was named in a police complaint filed by a female journalist accusing him of sexually harassing her while she was reporting on a protest near Jantar Mantar. The allegation led to a protest near the Parliament Street Police Station with the protesters inquiring about the progress on the complaint registered.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 09:55:35 AM IST
INDIA bloc protest LIVE: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav lands in Delhi for mega march
VIDEO | Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav arrives in Delhi ahead of INDIA bloc's protest march to Election Commission headquarters, says, "This is not a new issue when it comes to the Election Commission. Complaints and objections against the Election Commission and the way it is functioning are not being raised for the first time. The Election Commission seems to believe that only those people who are members of the Bharatiya Janata Party are Indian citizens. On several occasions, it appears that the Election Commission also believes that only those who are members of the BJP are entitled to vote. People used to say that the BJP functions like an election machine and does not win elections merely through the electoral process. It has a lot of money. In Bengal, we saw how booths were captured through the use of force. And this did not happen only in Bengal. Before that, it happened in Uttar Pradesh. Therefore, the Election Commission is not impartial. The Election Commission is not functioning according to the Constitution. Ever since the BJP came to power, the Election Commission has started working for the BJP." #SamajwadiParty #INDIABloc #AkhileshYadav (Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/bIyFWTfmBd)
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) October 6, 2026INDIA bloc protest LIVE: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav landed in Delhi earlier today ahead of INDIA bloc's protest march to Election Commission headquarters.
“This is not a new issue when it comes to the Election Commission. Complaints and objections against the Election Commission and the way it is functioning are not being raised for the first time. The Election Commission seems to believe that only those people who are members of the Bharatiya Janata Party are Indian citizens,” he said after landing in Delhi.
On several occasions, it appears that the Election Commission also believes that only those who are members of the BJP are entitled to vote, he said.
“People used to say that the BJP functions like an election machine and does not win elections merely through the electoral process. It has a lot of money. In Bengal, we saw how booths were captured through the use of force. And this did not happen only in Bengal. Before that, it happened in Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
- 6 Oct 2026, 09:50:03 AM IST
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Who is Gyanesh Kumar and why is he facing calls for suspension?
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Gyanesh Kumar, a retired 1988-batch IAS officer, is the chief election commissioner (CEC) of India. He was appointed as an election commissioner in March 2024 and later elevated to lead the multi-member Election Commission of India (ECI), replacing Rajiv Kumar on top post of the poll body.
He is currently facing widespread calls for suspension, resignation, and legal prosecution due to severe allegations of administrative unilateralism, structural irregularities, and mass voter disenfranchisement.
The controversy primarily rests around the massive nationwide voter rollout of revision exercise called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which opposition parties and several others have described as a clean-up drive done to swing the elections in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While Gyanesh Kumar has faced questions ever since the first rollout of the SIR exercise - in Bihar in 2024 - a recent investigative report, claiming that the other two election commissioners-Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi-formally recorded written objections on at least 14 separate occasions over 10 months, has reignited voices against the CEC and ECI's functioning under him.
The investigative report alleges that major administrative, technological, and voter data decisions were taken by Kumar without their knowledge, recommendation, or concurrence. Under law, the ECI must make decisions unanimously or by majority consensus.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 09:21:35 AM IST
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Promotion of Delhi ACP, accused of sexual harassment by female journalist at Jantar Mantar, put on hold
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Assistant commissioner of police (Connaught Place) Vivek Bhagat was promoted to additional deputy commissioner of police in a routine order issued by the Delhi home department on Monday, but the order was later put on hold on the officer’s request.
This comes two days after he was named in a police complaint filed by a female journalist accusing him of sexually harassing her while she was reporting on a protest near Jantar Mantar. Read full HT report here
- 6 Oct 2026, 09:06:53 AM IST
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: RAF deployed ahead of INDIA bloc's march to ECI
#WATCH | Delhi: Heavy presence of RAF (Rapid Action Force) personnel around Akashvani, ahead of INDIA bloc MPs' march to the Election Commission office today amid the CEC Gyanesh Kumar matter. https://t.co/Hpy04uCz2i
— ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2026Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: Heavy presence of RAF (Rapid Action Force) personnel around Akashvani, ahead of INDIA bloc MPs' march to the Election Commission office today amid the CEC Gyanesh Kumar matter.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 08:52:47 AM IST
Form 6 row: How an ECI order reached Supreme Court | Timeline
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6, the statutory application form used to enrol new voters. The top court sought the Election Commission’s records to establish who authorised changes to the online form.
This observation has brought into focus a dispute that began with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar in June 2025 and escalated after an SIR-linked declaration appeared on the online Form 6 on the ECINET portal.
The ECI has maintained that Form 6 itself was never amended, and that the disputed provision was a separate SIR declaration. It has also said that its SIR orders were unanimously approved, a claim countered by an Indian Express report showing that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised formal objections to the change. Click here to read HT explainer which gives a date-by-date account of how the controversy unfolded.
- 6 Oct 2026, 08:49:19 AM IST
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: All MPs to march peacefully from Parliament House
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said MPs of all Opposition parties would march peacefully from Parliament House to the Election Commission at 11 am, with MPs asked to assemble at Makar Dwar at 10.30 am.
"Till October 8, all INDIA alliance parties will organise pad-yatras at the district level. There will be demonstrations; there will be meetings," he said.
Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh said his party would not join the march. “As for tomorrow's protest, it is being organised by the INDIA alliance, and the Aam Aadmi Party is not part of it. However, we are fighting this battle in our own way,” ANI news agency quoted him as saying.
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- 6 Oct 2026, 08:47:30 AM IST
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: INDIA bloc's mega march to ECI today
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: Security has been beefed up around Vijay Chowk in the national capital on Tuesday in view of a planned protest demonstration by opposition parties, with Delhi Police setting up multiple layers of barricades to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incidents.
Heavy presence of RAF (Rapid Action Force) personnel around Akashvani, ahead of INDIA bloc MPs' march to the Election Commission office today amid the CEC Gyanesh Kumar matter.
Opposition leaders and MPs are set to march towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI), in the national capital on Tuesday morning, as part of their ongoing protest over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and their demand for the sacking of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.