INDIA bloc protest LIVE: Big march to ECI against Gyanesh Kumar today; 'why such security, we're unarmed', says Oppn

Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Protests against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is spilling to the fifth day today with INDIA bloc's planned march towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the alleged irregularities in poll body decisions.

Chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has been accused of taking key ECI decision "unilaterally", without keeping in loop the suggestions of his two election commissioners

Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: The growing protests against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar is entering the fifth day today with opposition alliance INDIA bloc's planned march towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the alleged irregularities in poll body decisions, particularly the Special Intensive Revision exercise or the clean-up drive of electoral rolls....Read More

The protests mainly began on October 2 with Opposition parties and civil society groups giving a call to gather over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar | Key points

-Since October 2, the protests have met hundreds of security personnel, layers of barricades and other restrictions along with detentions. The protesters include a united delegation of activists, including All India Students’ Association president Neha Bora, and civil society members Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Nikhil De, and Nandita Narain. They had visited the Parliament Street police station over the protest call at Jantar Mantar last Monday but were denied permission.

-The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), whose previous protest at Jantar Mantar in July this year against the alleged irregularities in examinations led to the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, launched its protest parallelly on October 2 at Shivaji Park in Maharashtra's Mumbai.

-CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced a "mobilisation" on October 10 from Jantar Mantar, The CJP on Monday sought to play down its recent sparring with sections of the Congress, welcoming the INDIA bloc's proposed protest on Tuesday and saying its own October 10 mobilisation should be seen as a broader call by the youth rather than that of a particular organisation.

-Amid protests and growing calls for suspension of the CEC, the Supreme Court on Monday declined to pass an interim order restraining Gyanesh Kumar from functioning over allegations that he took several decisions unilaterally despite objections from the two other election commissioners (ECs), saying it could not proceed on “assumptions” without first verifying the facts.

Follow all the updates here:

Oct 6, 2026, 08:52:47 IST

Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: The Supreme Court on Monday clarified that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6, the statutory application form used to enrol new voters. The top court sought the Election Commission’s records to establish who authorised changes to the online form.

This observation has brought into focus a dispute that began with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar in June 2025 and escalated after an SIR-linked declaration appeared on the online Form 6 on the ECINET portal.

The ECI has maintained that Form 6 itself was never amended, and that the disputed provision was a separate SIR declaration. It has also said that its SIR orders were unanimously approved, a claim countered by an Indian Express report showing that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised formal objections to the change. Click here to read HT explainer which gives a date-by-date account of how the controversy unfolded.

Oct 6, 2026, 08:49:19 IST

Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said MPs of all Opposition parties would march peacefully from Parliament House to the Election Commission at 11 am, with MPs asked to assemble at Makar Dwar at 10.30 am.

"Till October 8, all INDIA alliance parties will organise pad-yatras at the district level. There will be demonstrations; there will be meetings," he said.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh said his party would not join the march. “As for tomorrow's protest, it is being organised by the INDIA alliance, and the Aam Aadmi Party is not part of it. However, we are fighting this battle in our own way,” ANI news agency quoted him as saying.

Oct 6, 2026, 08:47:30 IST

Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: Security has been beefed up around Vijay Chowk in the national capital on Tuesday in view of a planned protest demonstration by opposition parties, with Delhi Police setting up multiple layers of barricades to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incidents.

Heavy presence of RAF (Rapid Action Force) personnel around Akashvani, ahead of INDIA bloc MPs' march to the Election Commission office today amid the CEC Gyanesh Kumar matter.

Opposition leaders and MPs are set to march towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India (ECI), in the national capital on Tuesday morning, as part of their ongoing protest over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and their demand for the sacking of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

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