Barricades, detentions do not fortify the ECI

No detention centre is large enough to sequester this crisis of credibility.

3 min readOct 12, 2026 06:00 AM IST First published on: Oct 12, 2026 at 06:00 AM IST

Delhi Police and the central forces brought in to add to their might succeeded in clearing Delhi’s streets of protesters on Saturday, October 10. They imposed restrictions on the right to assemble peacefully and even to move freely, detained an estimated 7,000, made sure that voices of protest would not be heard in public spaces. They did this without the excessive use of violence deployed against protesters in July. But unfortunately for Delhi Police and its political masters, that is not the end of this story. Questions and concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission of India, and particularly Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar, in the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls — highlighted in this newspaper’s investigation — remain unresolved. The layers of barricades in the capital may have interrupted and scattered the protesters’ mobilisations. But within Fortress Delhi, the ECI remains a disquietingly vulnerable address. Every attempt to silence the calls for greater transparency and accountability from it only makes them ring out more loudly and clearly.

Saturday’s crackdown in the Capital may have given the impression that the face-off is between the protesters led by the CJP and the Narendra Modi government. That impression has been underlined by representatives of the ruling establishment who followed their playbook, firmed up over the years — they rounded on protesters aggressively, scolding them, labelling them as “destabilisers” and “anarchists” who have the backing of “foreign powers”. The fact is, however, that a constitutional body, independent of the government of the day, lies at the centre of the current face-off. The ECI, though, has maintained an inexplicable silence, broken only by the bland press release that leaves important questions unaddressed. By not speaking for itself, by letting the Centre put in place an unprecedented crackdown against its critics, it hurts, even more, its own hard-won autonomy. Meanwhile, the angry CJP-vs-BJP war of words has drawn attention to another sobering absence. The political establishment, not just the BJP, has not yet found a language to talk to young citizens. Even opposition parties, whose former chief ministers were detained on Saturday, need to widen their vocabulary if they have to engage with Gen Z and their concerns, not just ride piggy-back on — or play catch-up to — their restlessness and mobilisations.

The Supreme Court did well to hold a special sitting on Sunday to draw some red lines, even if they seemed less mindful of the infringement of individual liberties and more hemmed in by the administration’s imperatives. But as the week ended, one image, one question, throbbed at the centre of the quiet storm. The CEC, in a labyrinth of his own making. What will it take for Gyanesh Kumar to realise that his refusal to acknowledge or answer questions is taking a mounting toll on an institution that has long prided itself on its imaginative and persuasive outreach to all voters, especially the young? No detention centre is large enough to sequester this crisis of credibility.