OPPOSITION AND YOUTH GROUPS STAGE NATIONWIDE PROTESTS OVER GYANESH KUMAR

September 26, 2026

NEW DELHI: Protests demanding action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar were held in several parts of the country on Friday, as opposition parties and youth groups intensified their campaign over the Election Commission's handling of electoral-roll revisions. Congress units organised demonstrations outside election offices in multiple states, while the Indian Youth Congress marched towards Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

The protests followed reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months concerning decisions related to electoral-roll revisions, including changes to Form 6 and the addition and deletion of voters' names. The reports have triggered a political dispute over the functioning of the three-member commission.

In Delhi, Indian Youth Congress workers marched from Raisina Road towards Jantar Mantar, while demonstrations were also reported in Jammu, Guwahati, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kolkata, Dehradun, Shimla, Bhubaneswar and other cities. Police detained protesters in some locations, while water cannons and tear gas were used during some demonstrations.

Separately, the Cockroach Janta Party has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Kumar, threatening to begin a nationwide agitation from October 2 if he does not resign. The group has also announced an indefinite sit-in in Delhi.

The Election Commission has rejected the characterisation of the reported internal differences as evidence of a breakdown in its functioning. It has said differing views, operational queries and written observations are part of institutional deliberations and maintained that its final decisions, including those concerning the Special Intensive Revision, were unanimous.=