India opposition marches in Delhi demanding election chief resign

Thousands of people marched through central Delhi on Sunday to demand the resignation of India's chief election commissioner over the revision of voter lists, the latest in more than a month of opposition protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

The demonstration was called by Rahul Gandhi, who leads the opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party. France 24 reported that tens of thousands joined the rally; Reuters and the Kathmandu Post described thousands. Organisers had predicted hundreds of thousands would gather at Ramlila Maidan, the historic ground where the march ended.

Party leaders travelled in an open-top jeep at the head of the procession. Hundreds of security personnel, some carrying batons and shields and backed by riot-control vehicles, surrounded the ground, and police warned of traffic diversions before the crowd set off.

The dispute centres on a revision of the electoral roll that removed more than 130 million names, more than the population of Japan. Opposition parties say the deletions fell disproportionately on Muslim voters and other minorities, groups unlikely to support Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and says people wrongly deleted can re-enrol. The BJP says its rivals are undermining democracy by questioning a legitimate process.

Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda described the rally as a "carefully orchestrated drama" and told news agency ANI: "What is unfolding today at Ramlila Maidan is not an act of respect for democracy. It is a calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy, all in the name of democracy."

Among those waiting at the ground was Reena Mahto, a member of Congress's student wing, who told Reuters that four of her relatives had been removed from the voter list on the false claim that they had moved elsewhere. She said the family has long lived in Jagdalpur in the central state of Chhattisgarh, but "now all of a sudden we have been marked as shifted from our own house". She added: "There should be accountability, and we are here to seek that."

Dinesh Singh, another protester, said he belonged to no political party. "I am here for a cause," he said. "I want the children to remember that we fought for their future."

Sunday's march follows near-daily demonstrations by opposition parties, student organisations and the Cockroach Janta Party since late September calling for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protests began after the Indian Express newspaper reported that Kumar's two deputies had raised internal concerns about voter list revisions, registration procedures and digital systems.

Analysts quoted by the South China Morning Post described the protests and growing support for the opposition as the worst crisis for Modi since he took power in 2014, while noting that his government remains stable and the next general election is not due until 2029.