IndiaPosted at: Oct 7 2026 10:07PM


Rahul Gandhi Released After Fresh Detention as INDIA Bloc Escalates ‘Vote Chori’ Fight With EC

New Delhi, Oct 7 (UNI) Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was released from Delhi Police detention on Wednesday evening after being held for around two hours along with Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other INDIA bloc MPs, as the Opposition’s escalating confrontation with the Election Commission spilled into another day of street protests, barricade stand-offs and detentions in the national capital.
Gandhi was released from the Barakhamba Road police station after Opposition MPs were stopped while proceeding towards Jantar Mantar for a sit-in demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Gandhi’s release brought a temporary end to another dramatic day in Delhi, but did little to ease the political confrontation between the INDIA bloc and the poll panel. For the second consecutive day, Parliament Street and the central Delhi area witnessed a high-voltage contest between Opposition leaders seeking to take their protest to the streets and the police enforcing restrictions on demonstrations. The Opposition has accused the Election Commission of facilitating “vote chori” through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and has made Kumar’s resignation the principal demand of its campaign. The Election Commission has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and maintained that electoral-roll revision falls within its constitutional mandate.
Wednesday’s protest followed a strategy lunch hosted by Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge at a restaurant in central Delhi, where INDIA bloc MPs discussed their next course of action following Tuesday’s confrontation with the Election Commission. After the meeting, the MPs decided to proceed towards Jantar Mantar for a sit-in. Kharge had made it clear that the Opposition intended to sustain the pressure, saying, “Until our demands are met, we will continue to stage such protests.”
The buses carrying the MPs were stopped by Delhi Police near central Delhi, close to the Shangri-La hotel, as they approached Jantar Mantar. With the police preventing them from proceeding further, the MPs and other protesters staged a sit-in on the road. What began as a protest against being stopped soon turned into another tense confrontation, with police personnel surrounding Gandhi and other leaders and attempting to clear the area.
Gandhi was eventually lifted and taken towards a police bus as police moved to disperse the protesters. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other women protesters were also forcibly removed from the site before being taken into custody. The scenes once again brought the INDIA bloc’s electoral campaign directly into the heart of the capital, with slogans of “Gyanesh Kumar Hatao, Loktantra Bachao” and “Gyanesh Kumar Resign” echoing around the police cordons.
Gandhi had earlier made clear that the Opposition would not retreat from its demand for Kumar’s resignation. “We are not going to stop protesting till Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” he said, framing the controversy as a fight over citizens’ voting rights and the integrity of the electoral process. His repeated invocation of “vote chori” has become the defining slogan of the Congress campaign against the Election Commission, turning the SIR controversy into a broader political battle over the credibility of India’s electoral machinery.
Wednesday’s confrontation came barely a day after Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other Opposition leaders were detained following a prolonged protest at Akashvani Bhavan. On Tuesday, INDIA bloc MPs had attempted to march from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters but were stopped by police barricades. Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra subsequently entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises and staged an extended sit-in, demanding access to the poll panel and answers over the electoral-roll controversy. They were later removed and detained after several hours.
The Tuesday confrontation also resulted in a police case against Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and others over their alleged unauthorised entry into the Akashvani Bhavan premises. Gandhi subsequently sought to turn the FIR into another political weapon, declaring, “I have 45 FIRs against me. My target is that there should be 100 FIRs against me. Every FIR against me is a medal for me.”
The Opposition’s campaign has consequently moved far beyond a single march to the Election Commission. Over the past two days, Parliament Street, Akashvani Bhavan and the approaches to Jantar Mantar have emerged as successive flashpoints, with Opposition leaders repeatedly challenging police barricades and restrictions and the authorities seeking to prevent the protests from turning into unauthorised assemblies.
The slogan “Gyanesh, It’s Done Bro” has emerged as one of the most recognisable political messages of the agitation, alongside “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” and the demand for the restoration of deleted names from electoral rolls. The INDIA bloc has sought to portray the street campaign as a democratic struggle over the right to vote, while the Election Commission has rejected the Opposition’s allegations and defended the integrity of the revision process.
Delhi Police, meanwhile, has maintained that demonstrations at Jantar Mantar require prior permission and that restrictions on assemblies are in force in parts of central Delhi. The Opposition, however, has argued that peaceful protest is a constitutional right and accused the government and police of attempting to suppress dissent.
The latest detentions have therefore acquired a significance beyond the immediate confrontation. For the Congress and its INDIA bloc partners, Gandhi’s detention and release have become part of a wider campaign challenging the Election Commission over SIR and alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.
With Gandhi and the other detained leaders released on Wednesday evening, the immediate street confrontation has ended for the night, but the political battle shows no sign of abating. The Opposition continues to demand Kumar’s resignation and an end to what it describes as arbitrary and politically motivated changes to electoral rolls. What began as a dispute over SIR has now evolved into a much larger confrontation over electoral integrity, institutional accountability and the credibility of India’s democratic process.
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