{"id":8156,"date":"2026-10-12T09:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8156"},"modified":"2026-10-12T09:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T09:35:10","slug":"delhi-braces-for-more-protests-against-election-chief-amid-crackdown-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=8156","title":{"rendered":"Delhi braces for more protests against election chief amid crackdown | Protests"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New Delhi, India<\/strong> \u2014 India\u2019s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has returned to the streets of central New Delhi, leading dozens of members of parliament demanding the election chief\u2019s resignation, as protests gather momentum.<\/p>\n

Gandhi, heir to India\u2019s most influential political dynasty, is seeking to turn a summer youth uprising into a broader challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s decade-long dominance of Indian politics, putting the Hindu nationalist government under growing pressure.<\/p>\n

In a press briefing on Monday, Gandhi said the Modi government had put the capital city \u201cin jail\u201d.<\/p>\n

The youth-led \u201cCockroach\u201d movement that forced out the education minister in July has also threatened to protest on Tuesday if it is not allowed to rally at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi, which was the focus of summer demonstrations.<\/p>\n

Joining Gandhi\u2019s Congress party, other opposition forces and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) are thousands of students from left-wing organisations. As the government braces for further protests, security forces have been detaining thousands of students every day, with allegations of custodial violence casting a climate of fear over the capital.<\/p>\n

\"Indian
Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is detained by police during a protest organised by opposition parties demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India, October 7, 2026 [Adnan Abidi\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u2018No constraints on Modi\u2019<\/h2>\n

India\u2019s Election Commission, a supposedly autonomous body tasked with overseeing the world\u2019s largest electorate, has been criticised after revelations that its chief, Gyanesh Kumar, frequently overruled concerns raised by the other two election commissioners about the integrity of changes to the voter database.<\/p>\n

For months, India\u2019s opposition parties have argued that the election commission is compromised, sabotaging elections at the behest of Modi\u2019s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its electoral benefit. The BJP denies the allegations.<\/p>\n

Since June last year, the commission has been revising and updating statewide voter lists. It has since removed more than 130 million names, which critics say has disproportionately deprived minorities and other vulnerable groups in India of the right to vote.<\/p>\n

Gandhi has called for the Chief Election Commissioner to be tried for treason. \u201cWe will not spare you,\u201d he said, referring to Kumar, at his Monday press briefing.<\/p>\n

Opposition politicians allege that protest rallies by leaders including Gandhi have been met with violent and brutal force, as seen in videos showing them being detained.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The protesters] came with love in their hearts, not hatred or anger,\u201d Gandhi said, referring to a\u00a0 protest on Saturday. \u201cThey were beaten, both by cops and BJP goons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNarendra Modi \u2026 cannot silence India\u2019s voice. These cowards cannot intimidate us. They will have to step aside,\u201d he wrote on X, calling on people from all walks of life to join the protest on Monday.<\/p>\n

Analysts say circumstances this time around are starkly different to the summer protests, when CJP-led demonstrators demanded the resignation of then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.<\/p>\n

Asim Ali, a political analyst in New Delhi, told Al Jazeera that the mobilisation of the wider opposition would not stop, but the Modi government was unlikely to back down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe crackdown this time on students is making it apparent that it would be tougher for young protesters this time, and students can\u2019t get beaten up and dragged violently daily,\u201d he said. \u201cGoing forward, the opposition parties stand to be the front face of the protests, and they need to lead from the front.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since 1975, when then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of national emergency suspending civil liberties, \u201cIndia saw more civil politics grow into mainstream, where opposition parties were allowed space,\u201d Ali said.<\/p>\n

He added that after five decades, \u201cthose democratic gains have vanished \u2013 and there are no constraints on this government by independent institutions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst, said he has seen New Delhi at the centre of \u201cseveral big opposition political rallies, held in areas near the parliament, hosting hundreds of thousands of people,\u201d when the police did not interfere, unlike the crackdowns this year.<\/p>\n

Kidwai said that the violent detention of members of parliament, in particular, was worrying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing a big change from when politicians were more tolerant of dissent,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"Neha
Neha Bora, National President of the All India Students\u2019 Association (AISA), is detained by police during a protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi, India, October 4, 2026 [Bhawika Chhabra\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cat-and-mouse chases<\/h2>\n

With an unprecedented security deployment in central New Delhi designed to prevent protest, youth leaders are turning to new tactics.<\/p>\n

Neha Bora, the president of All India Students\u2019 Association (AISA), a left-wing group affiliated with the Communist Party of India, has often tricked Delhi police in order to stage protests.<\/p>\n

Bora, a post-doctoral student of theatre, came to national prominence for her fiery speeches in the July protests, becoming a leading face of the Gen Z movement challenging Modi\u2019s Hindu nationalist politics.<\/p>\n

Aditi Thakur, a 23-year-old student in the capital, has turned on notifications for all of Bora\u2019s posts on social media. \u201cA call to protest can come anytime, anywhere,\u201d she told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Bora does not reveal when or where she is going to stage a protest until just 30 minutes before, to avoid detentions by the police. Her supporters are alerted via social media to join her at a given location in the capital.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, she picked a congested street near central Delhi \u2014 and was able to jump several barricades to reach the heavily secured Parliament Street, before being chased down and dragged into a police van.<\/p>\n

Even Thakur couldn\u2019t catch her, she told Al Jazeera, laughing. \u201cThese are guerrilla times, but peacefully. If the government cracks down on us, we also need to adapt,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a fun cat-and-mouse chase every day. I\u2019m hooked on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Gandhi-led Congress is also adopting similar measures, holding flash rallies at unannounced venues, then running away from police.<\/p>\n

\"A
A man walks past members of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) standing guard ahead of a protest planned by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) seeking the resignation of India\u2019s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India, October 10, 2026 [Adnan Abidi\/Reuters]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The mood is changing<\/h2>\n

A defining feature of the July protests \u2013 a watershed moment for wrestling concessions from the government \u2013 was Gen Z\u2019s humour in the face of police brutality.<\/p>\n

Now, protesters are prepared for a more serious confrontation, even if demonstrations remain peaceful, say analysts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing that humour changing more into anger this time,\u201d Asim Ali said.<\/p>\n

The biggest challenge for the government is disruption in central New Delhi, which, Ali said, the government cannot allow on a daily basis. The area is home to most federal government offices, as well as being a major business hub.<\/p>\n

Protesters know that too, and that gives them leverage.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing this movement grow into a bigger anti-government, anti-Modi movement,\u201d Ali said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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New Delhi, India \u2014 India\u2019s main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has returned to the streets of central New Delhi, leading dozens of members of parliament demanding the election chief\u2019s resignation, as protests gather momentum. Gandhi, heir to India\u2019s most influential political dynasty, is seeking to turn a summer youth uprising into a broader challenge to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t