INDIA Bloc Marches to Ramlila Maidan in Chalo Dilli Rally Demanding Election Chief Resignation

The INDIA bloc Chalo Dilli march started from the Minto Road and Connaught Place junction towards Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Sunday, November 1, 2026. Hundreds of supporters converged at Minto Road as thousands gathered for the rally at the ground.

Supporters of INDIA bloc parties assembled across the capital, and the crowd swelled at Ramlila Maidan around noon local time, with placards and slogans against the SIR exercise and demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, PTI reported.

Leaders gather at Kharge residence, then ride to Minto Road

Senior leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, M A Baby, D Raja and Dipankar Bhattacharya reached Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge residence, from where they proceeded to Minto Road in an open bus to stage the march to Ramlila Maidan, PTI reported. ANI listed further attendees including Mallikarjun Kharge, Abhishek Banerjee, Revanth Reddy, Tejashwi Yadav, Farooq Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

In a video shared on X before reaching Minto Road, Rahul Gandhi said supporters had been told to do some shopping on their way to the march, but the BJP had forcibly shut down every shop near Connaught Place, and he asked who was causing the loss to traders. On Saturday he had said: "Along with protesting, marching and attending the rally tomorrow, do a little shopping too," PTI reported.

Protest targets the voter roll revision

The protest is against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls during the Election Commission Special Intensive Revision, known as SIR. The opposition coalition alleges widespread deletions of legitimate voters and demands the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the Election Commission of failing to maintain electoral integrity. These are opposition allegations, not established findings.

The November 1 mobilisation follows the symbolic public impeachment of Kumar organised by the INDIA bloc at Kharge residence on Saturday, October 31, which The Orbit Post reported as a separate event.

Heavy security across central Delhi

More than 4,000 police personnel, with Central Armed Police Forces companies, were deployed along the march route and at the venue, PTI reported. The ground was divided into 14 zones, and more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body worn cameras were used. Traffic diversions ran across central Delhi from 10 am to 5 pm local time.

Delhi Police Special Commissioner for law and order Devesh Srivastava said: "As you can see, we are managing the law and order situation, and everything is peaceful; people are coming. So we are in touch with the organizers and all arrangements are in place to see that the arrangement passes peacefully and the rally proceeds with all the required safety and security measures."

Turnout claims differ, BJP marches in West Delhi

The INDIA bloc said it expects a turnout of up to 10 lakh people, which is 1,000,000. Delhi Police expects around 50,000. Ramlila Maidan can accommodate 45,000 to 50,000 people when empty, with capacity estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 with chairs, enclosures and passageways in place, PTI reported.

The ruling BJP mounted a simultaneous march in West Delhi. Union Minister J P Nadda dismissed the INDIA bloc rally as an orchestrated drama by repeatedly rejected parties, ANI reported.