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India turns Delhi into a fortress as Modi's rivals prepare a mass march against the election chief over voter lists

Ramlila Maidan, where up to one million protesters were expected to gather demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter roll changes critics say stripped more than 130 million names, disproportionately targeting Muslim voters.
Ramlila Maidan, where up to one million protesters were expected to gather demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter roll changes critics say stripped more than 130 million names, disproportionately targeting Muslim voters.
Narendra Modi, whose BJP has accused opposition parties of undermining faith in legitimate electoral processes.
Narendra Modi, whose BJP has accused opposition parties of undermining faith in legitimate electoral processes.

Hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected to march through central Delhi on Sunday, led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter list changes critics say were designed to hurt minority communities. The Modi government deployed riot-control vehicles, paramilitary units and hundreds of barricades, while police detained students, protest leaders and journalists in the run-up to the rally.

The opposition alleges the voter roll revision stripped over 130 million names, disproportionately targeting Muslim voters and others unlikely to back Modi's BJP.

Organisers are calling the march 'Delhi Chalo' and expect a crowd of up to one million at Ramlila Maidan — what observers say is Modi's worst political crisis since 2014.

The Election Commission denies favouring any party, saying wrongly removed voters can re-enrol; the BJP accuses opposition parties of undermining faith in legitimate electoral processes.

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