Accompanied by hundreds of Opposition MPs and supporters, Gandhi attempted to march from Parliament House to the Election Commission office. Police stopped the protesters near Akashvani Bhawan, about 200 meters from the poll body’s office.
Amid slogans and cheers from supporters, Gandhi climbed multi-layer steel barricades, waved the tricolour and later managed to enter the AIR premises after getting past police cordons. He remained inside the compound for more than eight hours, insisting he wanted to meet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Gandhi accused the CEC of facilitating “vote theft” and said he was prepared to continue his protest until the Opposition was allowed to meet the Election Commission. He also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had “hijacked” the country with the CEC’s help.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also joined the protest and held discussions with a senior police officer as the administration attempted to resolve the standoff.
The protest was part of a series of demonstrations demanding Kumar’s resignation following an Indian Express report that raised questions about alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision process and differences among Election Commissioners. Election Commission sources, however, said the poll body had not received any request from a political party seeking a meeting.
Several Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leaders Abhishek Banerjee and Derek O’Brien, and CPI(M) MP John Brittas, were detained during the march and later released.
Police had imposed extensive security arrangements around the Election Commission office and blocked roads in the surrounding area to prevent protesters from reaching it.
Opposition MPs carried cutouts depicting the CEC in an RSS uniform and raised slogans accusing the Election Commission and the BJP of working together. Gandhi later posted on X calling for Kumar’s resignation.
Biju Janata Dal MPs also participated in the march despite the party not being part of the INDIA bloc. However, DMK and AAP leaders stayed away.
The BJP strongly criticized the protest, accusing Congress and its allies of trying to create disorder and undermine constitutional institutions following electoral defeats. Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP spokespersons Sambit Patra and Sudhanshu Trivedi rejected the Opposition’s allegations and questioned its objections to voter verification.
