Thousands protest in New Delhi against India’s voter list revision

NEW DELHI:(Web Desk)  Thousands of people joined an opposition-led protest in India’s capital on Sunday, demanding the resignation of the country’s election chief over a nationwide revision of voter lists that opposition parties allege could benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The revision of electoral rolls has triggered political disputes and street demonstrations across the country over the past month. While the Election Commission says the exercise is aimed at ensuring accurate voter lists, opposition parties accuse it of being manipulated to favour the BJP. Both the commission and the ruling party have rejected the allegations.

Led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, protesters marched from central New Delhi to Ramlila Maidan, chanting slogans including, “Vote thief, leave your seat,” while beating drums.

One protester, Nandita, 46, told AFP that her name had been removed from the voter list despite having voted since turning 18. She said rising living costs and concerns over the country’s direction had made peaceful street protests necessary.

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a youth-led online protest movement, has also joined the campaign against the voter-list revision. The movement has gained millions of social media followers since its launch in May.

According to figures reported by Indian media and cited by opposition parties in court filings, more than 133 million names have been removed from electoral rolls during the overhaul. Critics allege that the removals have disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims.

Members of the BJP have previously alleged that large numbers of undocumented Muslim migrants from neighbouring Bangladesh fraudulently entered India’s electoral rolls. Election authorities, however, say the revision is intended to remove duplicate, deceased and fraudulent entries, adding that eligible citizens can apply to have their names included.

Human Rights Watch has criticised the process, describing the voter removals as “arbitrary and deeply flawed”. In a statement this week, the organisation called for the revision to be scrapped, arguing that it had denied marginalised people their voting rights and access to government services.

The CJP has played an active role in protests against the exercise, with several of its leaders temporarily detained by police during demonstrations last month.

The movement previously organised protests in July over alleged examination irregularities, which were followed by the resignation of India’s education minister, according to the report.

The demonstration comes amid mounting scrutiny of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which has reportedly removed more than 130 million names from electoral rolls. Human Rights Watch has raised concerns about the process, while the Election Commission maintains that the exercise is intended to remove ineligible and duplicate registrations.