Congress Demands CEC's Removal as Election Commission Agrees to Share Readable Voter Rolls

UPDATE - follow-up to Anti-CEC protest LIVE | Delhi Police allows Congress to hold rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1: The Congress party has declared that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must go and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls must be suspended immediately, even as the Election Commission agreed to provide readable voter rolls to political parties.

Nationwide Protests

Jairam Ramesh stated that the Election Commission's decision on October 15, 2026, to share readable electoral rolls—after refusing the demand since 2018—happened because the whole nation is protesting on the streets. He alleged that the CEC acted on instructions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, and claimed the revision process put the voting rights of 13 crore Indians at risk. Meanwhile, Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, who was placed under preventive arrest by Delhi Police, was released by a Delhi court on Saturday after signing a peace bond, while protests led by women activists continued for the eighth day.

Legal And Political Battles

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea by academician Apoorvanand Jha, represented by senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan and advocate Akriti Chaubey, challenging prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and arguing that preventive detentions during peaceful protests are unlawful. Separately, the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre on a petition by the Association for Democratic Reforms challenging lifelong immunity for the CEC and Election Commissioners. Farmers' groups under the Samyukt Kisan Morcha announced a march to Delhi on October 23 demanding the CEC's resignation. In London, protesters and counter-protesters gathered outside the Indian High Commission. The Indian Youth Congress alleged police brutality against students and warned of legal action.

Ground Operations

The Congress has appointed 208 observers to coordinate its Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao campaign. In Delhi, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer reported that about 26 lakh out of 33.12 lakh cases of no-mapping or logical discrepancy have been resolved during the ongoing revision. Meanwhile, the Delhi Police issued a no-objection certificate allowing the Congress to hold a rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1.

Context

Electoral roll revisions are routine administrative exercises conducted by election authorities to update voter lists, but major policy shifts often trigger intense political friction. The ongoing dispute highlights the growing friction between opposition parties and election authorities over transparency and voter registration processes.