Monday in Delhi smells of fresh confrontation. Two marches, two very different sets of grievances, and one very stretched police force. By this afternoon, the INDIA bloc plans to walk from central Delhi to the Supreme Court with a memorandum for the Chief Justice, while the BJP’s women’s wing takes out its own march to the Congress headquarters. After a weekend of detentions and scuffles at protest sites across the capital, Delhi is bracing for a day that could set the tone for the argument over how India maintains its voter lists.
What is happening today
The Congress has named its mobilisation the Chalo Delhi march. Participants are expected to assemble near the Connaught Place and Barakhamba Road junction at around 1.30 pm and proceed towards the Supreme Court, where opposition leaders intend to submit a memorandum to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The memorandum carries three demands: an end to what the opposition calls vote chori, a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi have also sought a meeting with the Chief Justice. A late-evening meeting window of 4 to 5 pm was reported, but there was no official confirmation from the court by Sunday night.
The Congress has asked all its MPs to remain in Delhi for the day. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was among those detained on Saturday, is staying back in the capital to join the march.
Why the INDIA bloc is marching
The immediate trigger is the SIR process. Last week, Rahul Gandhi alleged large-scale irregularities in voter rolls, claiming millions of names had been added or deleted across states including Haryana, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. He called the alleged tampering an assault on democratic institutions. The BJP has rejected the charge, and the Election Commission has defended its procedures, saying the revision is a routine exercise to clean up the rolls.
The confrontation turned physical over the weekend. On Saturday, a protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar, demanding the CEC’s resignation, met a heavy police deployment. Four former chief ministers, Mamata Banerjee, Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar, were detained. So were CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, senior Left leader Brinda Karat, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who was picked up from his Delhi residence.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and spokespersons Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained when they arrived at Delhi airport. Dipke was produced before an Executive Magistrate and released on Sunday, and lost no time in declaring that he would be back on the streets, daring the authorities to jail him again.
Sunday saw more detentions at the Inner Circle of Connaught Place, where members of the Students’ Federation of India and Left parties protested under heavy police watch, and Congress student wing NSUI workers were detained during a demonstration against the CEC.
The BJP’s counter-protest
The BJP, meanwhile, has opened a second front. Its Mahila Morcha will take out the Nari Shakti Hunkar march starting at 11 am from the Andhra Education Society School on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, ending at the Congress headquarters at Indira Bhawan with a demonstration outside.
The march is being led by Mahila Morcha national president Roop Kumari Choudhary and in-charge Daggubati Purandeswari, with women MPs, MLAs, councillors and thousands of Delhi BJP workers expected to take part.
The trigger is the dismissal of Congress MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam from Jawaharlal Nehru University on October 8 over sexual harassment charges. At a press conference on Sunday, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj questioned the Congress leadership’s silence, asking why the party had not ordered an internal inquiry or taken disciplinary action when the charges first surfaced months ago. The Mahila Morcha has demanded that the Congress expel the MP, that he resign from the Lok Sabha, and that the party apologise to the students involved.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has stood by the police, praising their handling of Saturday’s protests and accusing the opposition parties of creating chaos in the capital. Union minister Sukanta Majumdar was blunter, dismissing the opposition agitation as a periodic bid to make its presence felt.
What to watch today
- Timing and traffic: the BJP march begins at 11 am, the INDIA bloc march at 1.30 pm. Expect diversions across central Delhi and possible metro restrictions near the routes. Commuters should check the latest advisories before heading out.
- The CJI meeting: a requested meeting is not a granted one. Whether Chief Justice Surya Kant agrees to meet the opposition leaders will be one of the day’s biggest signals.
- How the police hold the ring: two large marches in the same part of the city, within hours of each other, will test a force already stretched after a weekend of detentions.
- The narrative battle: the opposition wants the day to be about the integrity of the voter rolls. The BJP wants it to be about accountability in the Congress’s own house. Whose framing sticks will matter long after the crowds disperse.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SIR that protesters are talking about? The Special Intensive Revision is an Election Commission process to update and clean voter rolls. The opposition alleges it has been used to delete legitimate voters and add bogus ones. The Commission says it is a routine purification exercise and rejects claims of political interference.
Where and when is the INDIA bloc march today? Participants are expected to gather near the Connaught Place and Barakhamba Road junction at around 1.30 pm and march to the Supreme Court, where a memorandum will be submitted to the Chief Justice of India.
Who is Gyanesh Kumar? He is the Chief Election Commissioner of India. The opposition is demanding his resignation, holding him responsible for the conduct of the electoral roll revision.
Why is the BJP protesting too? The BJP Mahila Morcha’s march targets the Congress over the JNU sexual harassment case involving its MP Angomcha Bimol Akoijam. The BJP wants the party to suspend and expel him and says the Congress has gone silent on women’s safety.
Will Delhi traffic be affected? Very likely, around central Delhi during both marches. Delhi Traffic Police advisories and metro updates are the best guide for commuters through the day.
For Delhi’s residents, Monday is best navigated with patience and a traffic app. For the rest of the country, it is the clearest test yet of where the fight over the voter lists is headed next.
