By Dr. Gyan Pathak
On the very first day of the protests on October 2, by INDIA bloc and other opposition political parties, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), Civil societies, and common people against CEC demanding his resignation across the country, particularly in Delhi and Mumbai, the campaign entered a consequential phase and at a political flashpoint. About 1000 protesters were detained by police and many were dragged out of the roads leading to Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Shivaji Park in Mumbai. One the one side there were protestors and on the other defenders of the CEC which included BJP led government’s police and administration and BJP-RSS people staging counter protests against protestors. Situation has reached a stage in which the loser of the battle will have to pay very heavy political price – whether it will be PM Modi or INDIA bloc and the entire opposition.
Obviously, the battle seems to continue until its logical end this time. INDIA bloc had decided the first phase of the protest from October 2-8 only. However, it is not going to end on October 8. CJP has already announced its escalation beyond October 8, and announced its protests in Delhi from October 10 onwards until the demand of removal or resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar is met. Protesters are not in a position now to leave the protest without yielding any result, because in that case they will lose the political narrative the CEC Gyanesh Kumar is PM Narendra Modi’s tool and acted in a way which were “illegal” and “unauthorised” helping the BJP to will elections in the country through vote theft.
Union government machinery under PM Narendra Modi, his political outfit BJP and its leaders, BJP-RSS activists, and the BJP led state governments are defending the actions of the CEC Gyanesh Kumar, in the matter of addition and deletion of voters from the electoral rolls in the name of cleaning the voter lists from illegal voters. They are peddling and supporting a narrative in favour of CEC and defending him. In several places they even staged counter protests against protesters of CJP, INDIA bloc, opposition, civil societies and common people. It is an indication that PM Narendra Modi and his BJP is not ready to lose their political narrative also, since it will immediately start countdown for end of their rule in the country.
The protests against CEC entered the second day on October 3, 2026. As decided by the INDIA bloc, these marches are named “Save Democracy” rallies and were scheduled between October 2 and October 8. Among the other joint protest programmes, was Opposition MPs March on the Election Commission of India (ECI) on October 6. Protest and demonstration rallies were scheduled for every district of the country, and on the very first day of the protests several parts of the country witnessed huge protests, chief among them were held in Delhi and Mumbai. INDIA bloc will also seek an appointment from the President of Indi to “underline the attack of the Constitution of India” by PM Narendra Modi through CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The actual and likely impacts of this movement cut across constitutional institutionalism, grassroots youth mobilisation and electoral democracy. The massive size of the protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, which goes beyond to PM Narendra Modi, indicates that there has already been significant erosion of public trust in the CEC Gyanesh Kumar, especially after the reported objections by two other Election Commissioners in which they called certain decisions even “illegal” and “unauthorised” regarding the SIR process. This gives an impression that the process was significantly compromised affecting the neutrality of the ECI.
The protests have seen a unique convergence of opposition political parties and youths from the grassroots, and also the youths led by CJP, students unions, and youth organisations. We have already witnessed this across the country during demonstrations on streets on the very first day of protests. Opposition and other Civil Society organisations have already approached various High Courts and the Supreme Court against the decisions of the CEC and their validity. Opposition has vowed to take the protests at all levels – streets, parliament, and judiciary.
For PM Modi, who frames his leadership around anti-corruption, administrative efficiency, and systemic stability, opposition claims alleging his interference in election management pose a direct challenge to his democratic legitimization narrative. He is now facing a tightrope walk between a need to defend his appointee Gyanesh Kumar on the constitutional post of CEC who he had appointed after kicking out the Chief Justice of India from appointing Committee and giving him immunity under new legislation from all his actions, and a need to avoid appearance of shielding him for his recorded “illegal” and “unauthorised” actions by two other ECs. The issue of accountability for alleged actions of CEC that helped him and the BJP to win elections have reached a point where it will have to be decided both at political and legal levels.
It is precisely for this reason, BJP leaders have mounted an aggressive political counter-strategy, accusing the opposition of attempting to delegitimize democratic outcomes and the constitution body ECI. They have adopted counter-offensive strategy in their politics, their government is using police force to suppress the anti-CEC movement, that is emanating every sign of further escalation.
As for INDIA bloc and other political parties, the issue has united them and we can see rare convergence in recent times. The political parties, such as AAP or DMK, which are not presently part of INDIA bloc, are also participation in the movement in their own way. TMC, Left Parties, and Congress have united, and even parties operating independently have signalled their parliamentary and even street level support to the movement.
INDIA bloc and other opposition parties have got an opportunity to explain their electoral defeats in the past as to how they lost due to vote theft by PM Narendra Modi through CEC Gyanesh Kumar. At this stage of protest, they also can’t afford to lose their narrative against PM Modi and BJP.
In this situation, if the movement fails to force a resignation or produce clear structural reforms within the ECI, the opposition risks to lose their narrative, and if they take it to logical conclusion, PM Narendra Modi will become more vulnerable than he is today.
A separate battle will be fought in the judiciary next week, and the outcome will also affect the fate of the CEC Gyanesh Kumar, and indirectly PM Modi and his party who is defending him, and the Opposition and youth and people’s movement running “Save Democracy” campaign demanding CEC’s removal or resignation. (IPA Service)
