Students demand arrest of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and scrapping of electoral roll revision at Mumbai University

Students gathered outside the University of Mumbai's Kalina campus on October 23, 2026, demanding the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the complete withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The protest was organized by the Disha Students' Organisation and the Bhagat Singh Jan Adhikar Yatra (BSJAY). Demonstrators also called for fresh elections based on earlier voter lists and for the repeal of the 2023 law that sets the rules for appointing Election Commissioners.

What Happened

The crowd included students, activists and working‑professionals. They raised slogans, performed political rap and sang revolutionary songs. Disha volunteer Abhinash Kumar warned that changes to voter registration requirements and the ECINET platform could erase long‑standing voters from the rolls, forcing them to fill out Form 6 again. He cited the Supreme Court’s May 27 2026 decision that upheld the SIR exercise in Bihar while limiting the Commission’s citizenship checks to electoral eligibility.

Reactions

BSJAY coordinator Dr Pooja said the SIR could disenfranchise Muslims, Dalits, Adivasis and working‑class voters and accused the Election Commission of favouring the BJP. Sahil Parsekar of the Cockroach Janta Party highlighted solidarity among protesters and warned that documentation demands would burden ordinary voters. Dhananjay Tawde urged indefinite sit‑ins across cities and criticised heavy police deployment, alleging preventive detention of activists. Rahul of Naujawan Bharat Sabha invoked freedom‑fighter Ashfaqulla Khan and called for unity against what he called divisive BJP politics.

Context

The SIR is a periodic effort by the Election Commission to clean and update voter lists. Legal challenges and public protests can shape how the commission balances accuracy with the risk of removing eligible voters.