CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Ahead of the INDIA bloc protest march towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarter today against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has dropped a bombshell claim, citing sources.
2 Mins agoINDIA bloc heads for showdown with cops
9 Mins agoRahul Gandhi live-streams INDIA bloc protest march
12 Mins agoWATCH | INDIA bloc members
20 Mins agoJUST IN | BJD joins INDIA bloc march
23 Mins agoOpposition leaders begin march
25 Mins agoOpposition leaders gather for mega march, raise ‘Gyanesh Kumar chor hai’ chants
35 Mins agoCISF DG takes stock of security outside Parliament
50 Mins agoAAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj writes his 'source says CEC can resign before Oct 10'
55 Mins agoBJP calls INDIA bloc's march plan a ‘sponsored effort to bring Rahul Gandhi to power’
1 Hr 6 Mins ago'What's the need for BSF, CISF, we are unarmed,' says Sanjay Raut
1 Hr 19 Mins agoSP chief Akhilesh Yadav lands in Delhi for mega march
1 Hr 24 Mins agoWho is Gyanesh Kumar and why is he facing calls for suspension?
1 Hr 53 Mins agoPromotion of Delhi ACP, accused of sexual harassment by female journalist at Jantar Mantar, put on hold
9:06 AM IST, Oct 6RAF deployed ahead of INDIA bloc's march to ECI
8:52 AM IST, Oct 6Form 6 row: How an ECI order reached Supreme Court | Timeline
8:49 AM IST, Oct 6All MPs to march peacefully from ParliamentHouse
8:47 AM IST, Oct 6INDIA bloc's mega march to ECI today
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The growing protests against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has entered the fifth day today with opposition alliance INDIA bloc marching 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....
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.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row | 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.
-Assistant commissioner of police (Connaught Place) Vivek Bhagat was promoted to additional deputy commissioner of police in a routine order issued by the Delhi home department on Monday, but the order was later put on hold on the officer’s request. This comes two days after he was named in a police complaint filed by a female journalist accusing him of sexually harassing her while she was reporting on a protest near Jantar Mantar. The allegation led to a protest near the Parliament Street Police Station with the protesters inquiring about the progress on the complaint registered.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: INDIA bloc heads for showdown with cops
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: The INDIA bloc marching towards the ECI headquarter is set for a showdown with security which has put layers of barricading to stop it from proceeding towards the building.
Barricades have been put up in front of Niti Aayog among other spots.
Opposition is also preparing to burn effigy of Gyanesh Kumar.
(With inputs from Saubhadra Chatterji)
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Rahul Gandhi live-streams INDIA bloc protest march
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi's X handle shares is live-streaming the protest march against alleged vote-theft by CEC Gyanesh Kumar from Parliament to ECI headquarter.
WATCH | INDIA bloc members march towards ECI from Parliament
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: INDIA bloc MPs begin march from Parliament to the ECI, demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation.
JUST IN | BJD joins INDIA bloc march
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Former Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik's BJD has joined the Opposition march to ECI headquarter, according to Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Opposition leaders begin march
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Opposition leaders of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have kickstarted their march to the ECI headquarter against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in poll body decisions taken “unilaterally” under him.
Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha LoPs Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, respectively, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav are among those taking part in the march.
The MPs gathered at Parliament's Makar Dwar and marching towards Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission headquarters.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Opposition leaders gather for mega march, raise ‘Gyanesh Kumar chor hai’ chants
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav and several others have gathered at Parliament for the protest march to the ECI building against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The proposed route of the march is from the Makar Dwar of Parliament to EC office via Sansad Marg
Opposition leaders have been calling out Gyanesh Kumar with chants of “Gyanesh Kumar chor hai”, “Gyanesh Kumar istifa do” [Gyanesh Kumar is a thief, Gyanesh Kumar resign] at Parliament complex.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: CISF DG takes stock of security outside Parliament
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: CISF DIG Sanjay Kumar Sain, along with Parliament security staff, takes stock of the security outside the Parliament premises, ahead of INDIA bloc MPs' protest march from Makar Dwar to the Election Commission of India over CEC Gyanesh Kumar matter today.
CEC Gyanesh Kumar row LIVE: AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj writes his 'source says CEC can resign before Oct 10'
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: “My source says Gyanesh Kumar can resign before 10th Oct,” said Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj in a post on X on Tuesday amid calls for the chief election commissioner's resignation over alleged “unilateral” decisions taken under him by the poll body - ECI - particularly the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
INDIA bloc march LIVE: BJP calls INDIA bloc's march plan a ‘sponsored effort to bring Rahul Gandhi to power’
INDIA bloc march LIVE: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Tuesday called INDIA bloc's planned protest march to the ECI headquarter in Delhi a “sponsored effort by some opposition parties in the country, especially the Congress party, to somehow change the government and bring Rahul Gandhi to power.”
“For this, a sponsored attack is being carried out on India's democracy and constitutional institutions. This process did not begin a few months ago, it has been going on for years. From the beginning, the Congress party has repeatedly tried to launch and relaunch Rahul Gandhi by any means possible. Despite several attempts, when Rahul Gandhi could not be launched, the Congress party and some of its allies ultimately decided that even if they have to launch Rahul Gandhi through anarchy, they will attack the country's democracy,” he said, according to a PTI news agency video of his press briefing on Tuesday morning.
"But at any cost, they will politically launch Rahul Gandhi. Even if we have to attack Indian democracy and establish anarchy in India, we will not desist from that, but in every possible way, we will try to launch Rahul Gandhi... EVMs have been attacked. And for the past few weeks and months, the Election Commission has been under attack," he added.
INDIA bloc protest LIVE: 'What's the need for BSF, CISF, we are unarmed,' says Sanjay Raut
INDIA bloc protest LIVE: On INDIA bloc MPs' march from Parliament to the ECI, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut asked what was the need for such stringent security measures for members of Parliament.
“They have deployed the Border Security Force and brought thousands of CISF personnel, from Parliament House to Nirvachan Sadan. I have just learnt that the security outside the houses of all ministers has also been increased. What is the need for this? We are MPs. We are members of Parliament. We are also citizens of this country. Why is there a need to deploy such a large force to stop us? We will walk and go. We are unarmed,” he said.
"We want to go to Nirvachan Sadan and tell Gyanesh Kumar, 'Brother, resign. You have done something very wrong to the country. You are an enemy of the country.' The Supreme Court has said that you are a person who lies. The Supreme Court did not know about the changes made to Form 6, did it? The Supreme Court has said that changes were made to Form 6 while keeping it in the dark, and Gyanesh Kumar was saying that he knew about it. So, he is a liar. Such a person has no moral right," he added.
INDIA bloc protest LIVE: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav lands in Delhi for mega march
INDIA bloc protest LIVE: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav landed in Delhi earlier today ahead of INDIA bloc's protest march to Election Commission headquarters.
“This is not a new issue when it comes to the Election Commission. Complaints and objections against the Election Commission and the way it is functioning are not being raised for the first time. The Election Commission seems to believe that only those people who are members of the Bharatiya Janata Party are Indian citizens,” he said after landing in Delhi.
On several occasions, it appears that the Election Commission also believes that only those who are members of the BJP are entitled to vote, he said.
“People used to say that the BJP functions like an election machine and does not win elections merely through the electoral process. It has a lot of money. In Bengal, we saw how booths were captured through the use of force. And this did not happen only in Bengal. Before that, it happened in Uttar Pradesh,” he added.
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Who is Gyanesh Kumar and why is he facing calls for suspension?
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Gyanesh Kumar, a retired 1988-batch IAS officer, is the chief election commissioner (CEC) of India. He was appointed as an election commissioner in March 2024 and later elevated to lead the multi-member Election Commission of India (ECI), replacing Rajiv Kumar on top post of the poll body.
He is currently facing widespread calls for suspension, resignation, and legal prosecution due to severe allegations of administrative unilateralism, structural irregularities, and mass voter disenfranchisement.
The controversy primarily rests around the massive nationwide voter rollout of revision exercise called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which opposition parties and several others have described as a clean-up drive done to swing the elections in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While Gyanesh Kumar has faced questions ever since the first rollout of the SIR exercise - in Bihar in 2024 - a recent investigative report, claiming that the other two election commissioners-Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi-formally recorded written objections on at least 14 separate occasions over 10 months, has reignited voices against the CEC and ECI's functioning under him.
The investigative report alleges that major administrative, technological, and voter data decisions were taken by Kumar without their knowledge, recommendation, or concurrence. Under law, the ECI must make decisions unanimously or by majority consensus.
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Promotion of Delhi ACP, accused of sexual harassment by female journalist at Jantar Mantar, put on hold
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE: Assistant commissioner of police (Connaught Place) Vivek Bhagat was promoted to additional deputy commissioner of police in a routine order issued by the Delhi home department on Monday, but the order was later put on hold on the officer’s request.
This comes two days after he was named in a police complaint filed by a female journalist accusing him of sexually harassing her while she was reporting on a protest near Jantar Mantar. Read full HT report here
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: RAF deployed ahead of INDIA bloc's march to ECI
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: 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.
Form 6 row: How an ECI order reached Supreme Court | Timeline
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.
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: All MPs to march peacefully from Parliament House
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.
Gyanesh Kumar news LIVE updates: INDIA bloc's mega march to ECI today
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.
