No Party Flags And Other Tweaks: INDIA Bloc's New Protest Strategy

The Opposition bloc INDIA has changed its protest strategy in Delhi from only going after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Singh to a wider "democratic protest" in order to draw supporters from across sections and different age groups.

The Opposition plans to march for 3 km from central Delhi's Barakhamba Road to the Supreme Court. The protest originally began as a way to demand the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar over the voter roll cleanup exercise special intensive revision (SIR).

However, they have now decided to change the optics of the protest after taking feedback from a diverse group of people who have been protesting in Delhi for the last two days.

Before the Opposition hit the road today, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi released a video message asking civil society organisations and the general public to join the protest.

But what led to this shift in the Opposition's strategy?

According to sources, the Congress has told leaders of the alliance to carry the national flag instead of party flags. The strategy is to ensure the event appears as a democratic protest, thereby encouraging participation from students and civil society organisations.

This decision came after observations of protests in Delhi over the last two days - involving lawyers and student groups - which presented a distinct visual character. The Congress believes that if the event is branded strictly as an Opposition protest, it might deter others, specifically Gen-Z, non-profits and lawyers, from joining. These sections of the population had participated in protests against the chief election commissioner.

During the Opposition's protests in Delhi last week, the prevalence of Congress's flags created an awkward situation among other parties of the INDIA bloc. Several prominent Opposition leaders also did not participate in the protests held over the last four days, raising questions about their unity. Consequently, significant changes have been made for today's protest.

These include leaders and workers from all Opposition parties to carry the national flag and not flags that represent their parties. The Congress has asked its alliance partners to mobilise their workers - which means supporters of the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party and Left parties would also be present at the protest today.

Lawyers and social organisations have also sent invitations to join the protest, called "Chalo Delhi (march to Delhi)" for democracy.

Through these tweaks, the Opposition parties are looking to show the event as a "democratic movement" rather than a purely political protest, hoping to attract Gen-Z and the general public.

The Opposition's four-day protest had so far seen only their own leaders and workers on the streets. In parallel, young people had also heard the call by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to protest for demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.

The Congress wants to combine both and make it look like a "people's movement".