OPPOSITION MARCH HALTED AT POLL PANEL DOORSTEP AS RAHUL GANDHI CHALLENGES ELECTION COMMISSION

October 6, 2026

NEW DELHI — Political tensions intensified in the national capital on Tuesday as Rahul Gandhi and more than 300 Opposition MPs marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters, demanding a meeting with the Election Commissioners and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The march was stopped by Delhi Police near the NITI Aayog and Akashvani Bhawan area, preventing the Opposition delegation from reaching the Election Commission office. Several leaders were detained during the confrontation, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other INDIA bloc MPs. Rahul Gandhi later entered the Akashvani Bhawan premises with other leaders and continued his protest.

Gandhi questioned why elected representatives were being prevented from meeting the Election Commissioners when the poll panel's office was only a short distance away. He argued that the Opposition MPs were representing millions of citizens and had the right to raise their concerns directly before the constitutional authority responsible for conducting elections.

The protest was linked to Opposition allegations concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and claims of irregularities in the electoral process. The INDIA bloc has demanded accountability from the Election Commission and called for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.

The dramatic confrontation, which included Gandhi climbing a police barricade while holding the national flag, highlighted the deepening political dispute between the Opposition and the election authorities. The Opposition maintained that its campaign was aimed at defending electoral democracy, while the episode underscored the increasingly charged political atmosphere surrounding India's electoral process.