India opposition protests intensify over election roll purge allegations

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India opposition election protests

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Protests led by Indian National Congress escalated across multiple cities after allegations that Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar ignored 14 formal objections on electoral roll revisions.
Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse demonstrators demanding Kumar's resignation, with the Cockroach Janta Party threatening a nationwide agitation if he does not step down by Saturday.
Approximately 130 million names were deleted from India's draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision launched in June 2025, intensifying concerns ahead of 2025 state elections.

Protests expand after voter roll allegations

As reported by Financial Times, citing Indian Express, the latest wave of protests follows allegations that Gyanesh Kumar ignored at least 14 formal objections from his two fellow election commissioners over the electoral roll revision exercise.

Police have used tear gas and water cannon and detained dozens of demonstrators in several cities as protesters demand Kumar’s resignation. The demonstrations were called by the opposition Indian National Congress and civil rights activists, who say deletions from voter lists over the past year have tilted the political landscape in favor of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

The Congress party said citizens, party workers, students and civil society activists took to the streets to demand accountability over voting rights. Police used water cannon in Chandigarh and Patna, used tear gas in Manipur, and blocked demonstrators from gathering at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.

The Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement, has joined the campaign against Kumar and says it will begin a nationwide agitation next week if he does not resign by Saturday. The movement was also involved in summer protests over India’s exam system that led to the resignation of Modi’s education minister.

Election oversight dispute tests political climate

The election commission has denied wrongdoing and says internal objections were a normal part of deliberations. In a statement, the commission said all decisions are the result of unanimous decisions by the full body.

Kumar was appointed by Modi’s government to head the officially independent election authority in February last year. Rahul Gandhi, a senior Congress leader, says the mass deletion of voters is part of a broader conspiracy directed by Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, while the BJP has rejected the accusation as false.

Around 130 million people have been removed from draft electoral rolls during the nationwide Special Intensive Revision that began in June 2025, although many were later reinstated after appeals and a final tally has not yet been published. The government says electoral roll revisions are a routine process intended to keep records current and remove the names of deceased voters.

While Modi does not face a national parliamentary vote again until 2029, state elections next year in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are expected to be important indicators of political support. That timing is increasing the significance of the dispute for India’s election system and broader political stability.

Our earlier report on India’s FY27 borrowing plan explained that New Delhi slightly trimmed its full-year gross borrowing target and shifted more issuance toward longer-dated bonds to ease pressure in a market hit by rising yields. We also noted that the government planned additional green bond sales in the second half, potentially taking total annual green issuance to a record level.

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