The Delhi Congress on Friday (September 25, 2026) staged a protest demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and an independent audit of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the national capital. 

Party workers marched from the Delhi Congress office on Rouse Avenue towards the BJP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg before proceeding to the Election Commission office at Nirvachan Sadan.

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav alleged that the SIR exercise had disproportionately affected residents of JJ clusters and unauthorised colonies who were facing difficulties in producing the required documents. He accused the BJP of “vote theft” and said Kumar must resign immediately. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed along the protest route and outside the Election Commission office. -PTI

The Congress took out a march towards the Election Commission office in Kolkata on Friday, demanding the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, but police stopped the rally midway. Led by West Bengal Congress chief Subhankar Sarkar, the protesters marched from the Calcutta University’s College Street campus towards the state Chief Electoral Officer’s office on Strand Road and were stopped at the B B Ganguly Street crossing.

The protesters burnt an effigy of Kumar and raised slogans demanding his arrest, with Sarkar saying the agitation would continue until their demands were met. The protest was part of the Congress’ nationwide campaign against Kumar, amid a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over decisions concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. - PTI

Several Congress workers and leaders were detained on Friday (September 25, 2026) during a protest in Jammu demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Congress MP and AICC general secretary Dr Syed Naseer Hussain led the protest, which was attended by several senior party leaders, including former ministers and legislators.

The protesters raised slogans against Kumar and burnt his effigy while attempting to march towards the Election Commission office. Police and paramilitary personnel deployed around the office detained several protesters, including senior leaders, following brief scuffles. The protest was part of the Congress’ nationwide campaign demanding Kumar’s removal and an independent review of decisions and electoral-roll changes made during his tenure.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday (September 24, 2026) called for the scrapping of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging irregularities in the process and citing reported differences among Election Commissioners.

In a post on X, Thackeray said all opposition parties should unite to demand an impartial inquiry into the alleged irregularities and restart the process. He also called for parties to launch a “massive agitation” to ensure future elections are conducted using ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi and several senior party leaders were detained on Friday (September 25, 2026) while attempting to cross police barricades during a protest demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, police said.

The Congress had taken out a march from its state headquarters, Rajiv Bhawan, towards the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, where it planned to burn an effigy of the CEC. Those detained along with Gogoi included AICC secretary Manoj Chauhan, Seva Dal president Deep Bayan and APCC general secretary Udit Bhanu Das, among others. Congress spokesperson Bedabrata Bora alleged that the leaders were “forcefully arrested” and claimed that “this is yet another threat to democracy”. -PTI

Photo credit: Sushil Kumar Verma

Indian Youth Congress workers wearing masks bearing Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s face and with their hands bound in chains protested outside the Election Commission office on Friday, demanding his resignation over alleged differences among the poll panel’s top officers on key electoral decisions.

Led by IYC president Uday Bhanu Chib, the protesters marched from the IYC office on Raisina Road towards the Election Commission headquarters, raising slogans and displaying posters and banners. Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed along the route, with barricades and detention buses stationed in the area. 

The protest followed an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months regarding electoral-roll-related decisions. -PTI

A petition moved in the Supreme Court seeks to subject Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to police investigation, evidence gathering and regular trial like an “ordinary accused.” The plea, by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi, alleges the CEC enjoys no personal immunity from criminal prosecution and accuses him of “unilateral, unauthorised, and illegal decisions,” including tampering with the electoral roll and altering Form 6 without legislative authority.

The petition follows reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions taken in the Commission’s name. It also alleges unauthorised subversion in West Bengal through more than 16.10 lakh appeals filed to purge restored voters.Read more here

Pinarayi Vijayan, former Kerala Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the State, on Friday (September 25, 2026) demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. “CEC Gyanesh Kumar must be removed, SIR must be halted, the voting rights of those wrongfully excluded must be restored, and the independence and credibility of the Election Commission must be protected,” he said in a post on X.

“The right to vote belongs to the people of India. It cannot be manipulated to serve the political interests of the BJP and Sangh Parivar,” Mr. Vijayan added. The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections indicate institutional dissent, maintaining that all final decisions, including on the SIR, were taken unanimously.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday (September 25, 2026) termed the BJP’s attack on her party over the Election Commission row a “stale and weak story,” alleging there were “facts and evidence” to support the Congress’s claims. 

“I’m sorry, that’s a very stale and weak story. There are facts, there is evidence... my brother has shown it in many different press conferences,” she told reporters in Wayanad. Ms. Gandhi Vadra alleged that 13 crore voter names had been deleted, and said that if the BJP leadership was influencing the Election Commission to meddle with elections, it would amount to an “act of treason.” 

Asked whether the Congress was planning protests, she said the Congress Working Committee (CWC) would decide the course of action at its meeting.

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of India’s ‘cockroach’ youth movement, said on Friday (September 25, 2026) that the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will launch nationwide protests from October 2, 2026, if Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by Saturday (September 26, 2026). “If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India,” he said in a post on X.

Opposition groups and the CJP have demanded Mr. Kumar’s resignation after a newspaper report said his deputies had questioned him over changes to voter lists, which opposition groups say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party. The Election Commission of India said differences among officers were normal in any institution and that all its actions were lawful.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president Naveen Patnaik on Friday (September 25, 2026) demanded that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar resign immediately, and that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls be thoroughly revisited, amid a report of internal differences within the three-member Election Commission. “Because of the sharp differences between election commissioners and the chief election commissioner, the CEC should immediately resign, and the whole SIR process should be thoroughly revisited,” Mr. Patnaik, the Leader of the Opposition in Odisha, told reporters outside the Assembly.

Mr. Patnaik said the BJD had opposed the SIR from the start, alleging earlier that more than 25 lakh eligible voters were deleted from the electoral rolls in Odisha during the exercise. Read more here

Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Friday (September 25, 2026) urged Opposition parties to stop participating in elections if they believe the process is being rigged, saying their continued participation only legitimises such polls. “Yes, elections are being rigged. But when you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimise these elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair,” he said in a post on X.

Mr. Dipke alleged parties kept contesting out of fear of political extinction, and accused them of raising the rigging issue only selectively. Drawing an analogy with a fixed cricket match, he said a few wins were “handed” to keep parties in the contest and make it look legitimate. “Take a stand and stop participating in rigged elections,” he said.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday (September 25, 2026) said the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) should resign, alleging that those responsible for differences within the Election Commission should step down on their own. He alleged that the election had been “snatched away.”

“Those who caused these differences in the Election Commission should resign on their own. The entire Opposition and all those who want to save democracy are demanding that... the CEC should resign on his own and leave. He snatched away the election,” Mr. Yadav told reporters in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh. -ANI

The Congress on Friday (September 25) took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi by recalling how Rajiv Gandhi in 1988 reduced the minimum age for voting from 21 years to 18 years, and said one PM gave Gen Z the vote, the other is determined to “snatch it away through underhand means,” he said in a post on X.

The Congress on Thursday (September 24) had alleged that Gen Z is being targeted for exclusion and pressed for its demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately.

The opposition party had also said Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will be held accountable for their “diabolical designs”.

- PTI