Guwahati: Leaders of the INDIA bloc on Sunday led a march from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction to Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, where Opposition parties held a mega rally against alleged voter-list manipulation and what they described as “vote chori”.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee were among the prominent Opposition leaders who participated in the march, organised under the banner of ‘Chalo Dilli’.

The rally, scheduled from 10 am to 5 pm, was projected by the Opposition as a campaign to defend democracy and the Constitution. Gandhi had appealed to students, civil society groups and citizens to join the mobilisation.

The Sunday rally follows a symbolic ‘public impeachment’ of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar held by the INDIA bloc at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Saturday. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided over the proceedings, during which Kharge moved a resolution listing the Opposition’s allegations against the CEC. Gandhi delivered the concluding remarks before the resolution was adopted.

The INDIA bloc has been organising protests against what it alleges is large-scale deletion of voters’ names from electoral rolls through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Opposition parties have also approached President Droupadi Murmu and the Supreme Court over the issue.

Addressing the rally, Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP of manipulating electoral processes and said legal action would be taken against those responsible. He alleged that 15 per cent of voters had been removed from electoral rolls after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, claiming that the deletions raised questions about the legitimacy of the poll.

Gandhi also alleged that voter-list manipulation had taken place in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Karnataka, besides the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He accused the BJP of using electronic voting machines and manipulating electoral rolls by deleting and adding names.

Responding to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s assertion that Modi was not going anywhere, Gandhi said the Prime Minister would not be able to evade scrutiny and reiterated that the Opposition would pursue legal action.

Gandhi also said the INDIA bloc’s campaign would be guided by democratic values rather than personal hostility. He maintained that the Opposition had no personal enmity towards Modi, Shah or Gyanesh Kumar and would reject violence and hatred in its fight to protect the Constitution.

Banerjee, meanwhile, accused the BJP of targeting West Bengal through the SIR exercise and vowed that her party would continue to oppose it through democratic means. She alleged that the BJP is using state machinery for political purposes and said her party would not surrender.

The TMC chief also accused the BJP of looting public resources and properties, alleging that the police and central agencies are being used to further the ruling party’s political interests.

Kharge said the INDIA bloc would continue its agitation until Gyanesh Kumar resigns. He accused the BJP of attempting to divide people and deprive them of their voting rights, and said Opposition parties would not be intimidated by the police, the Central Bureau of Investigation, the Enforcement Directorate or other government agencies.

The Congress president also alleged that the BJP-led governments at the Centre and in Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh had come to power through voter manipulation. He called for the removal of the Modi government, arguing that the fight was necessary to safeguard democracy.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav alleged that voter lists had been manipulated during the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, with names deleted and eligible voters prevented from exercising their franchise. He claimed that the Samajwadi Party had submitted affidavits documenting cases in which voters were unable to cast their ballots, but no action had followed.

The SP chief accused the BJP of relying on the Election Commission to advance its political interests because it could no longer secure public support on its own. He also criticised the party over its electoral performance in Varanasi.

Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president and MP from Gaurav Gogoi described the rally as a historic mobilisation, claiming that students, farmers and people from across the country had come together to safeguard democracy. He said the BJP is apprehensive about the growing unity among Opposition parties and citizens.

The INDIA bloc’s protests have centred on allegations that the SIR exercise has resulted in the deletion of legitimate voters from electoral rolls, disproportionately affecting marginalised communities.