Police Halt Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi’s March to the Supreme Court.

As opposition leaders started their march to the Supreme Court on Monday to confront Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over claims of vote irregularities, thousands of people gathered in central Delhi. As the leaders of the INDIA bloc marched, their legal team filed a petition alleging “vote chori” (vote theft) against the head of the poll panel.

Protesters crowded the area between Connaught Place and Mandi House as security was heightened around the nation’s capital. Leaders of the opposition gathered at the intersection of Connaught Place and Barakhamba Road for the “Chalo Delhi – March for Democracy” march, which was organized by the INDIA opposition alliance. With thousands of INDIA bloc leaders and supporters on either side, Rahul Gandhi led the march to the Supreme Court, accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi and AISA chief Neha Bora.

The Opposition leaders were stopped by the police after a short march. Rahul Gandhi was seen standing atop a truck, accompanied by a number of opposition politicians, including Akhilesh Yadav, the head of the Samajwadi Party, and Tejashwi Yadav, the leader of the RJD.

With Congressman Rahul Gandhi urging Kumar to step down, the demonstration is a step up in the opposition’s campaign against the Election Commission of India (ECI). After speaking with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) earlier, the opposition has stated that it plans to file a plea with the Supreme Court on Monday.

Rahul Gandhi declared at a news conference earlier today at the Congress headquarters that the opposition would not give up until the Election Commission’s leadership was replaced, the Constitution was respected, and the election system was reformed.

He also claimed that Kumar was under pressure because of the allegations, saying, “We know Gyanesh Kumar is unable to sleep at night; I am telling him directly, ‘you will not survive as CEC’.” He appealed to citizens to join the march in person or express their support from wherever they were.

“In this fight to protect democracy and the Constitution, fellow citizens, let us march step in step with us. Reach Connaught Place and become part of this march. If you can’t come, raise your voice from wherever you are!” he wrote, using the hashtag #ChaloDilli.

Gandhi highlighted that the opposition is engaged in multiple political battles and aims to frame the dispute as a test of public trust in the government. He asserted that the opposition seeks to show that Indians will resist political pressure. Rahul Gandhi emphasized the need for continued public mobilization beyond the recent march to safeguard democratic institutions. He mentioned that while there has been past resistance to the Election Commission’s actions, it hadn’t previously led to large-scale protests. Gandhi urged patience and persistence, noting that political change and the defense of democracy are gradual processes.

After The Indian Express reported that two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had recorded complaints at least 14 times over the previous ten months, the opposition’s campaign against Gyanesh Kumar grew more intense. The majority of the objections, according to the report, had to do with rulings and directives regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral records.