Tens of thousands gathered in Delhi for a rally demanding the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner over a controversial revision of voter lists.

Organised by the opposition INDIA bloc and led by Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party, the protest drew many of the alliance’s most prominent leaders in a show of strength against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Protesters waved flags and chanted “Save the vote, save the country” and “Vote thief, give up power”.

It was the latest in a series of protests over electoral roll revision that the opposition says has removed eligible voters to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP and the Election Commission deny the allegations.

The crowds gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a sprawling ground in central Delhi known for hosting major political and cultural events. Some protesters sang and danced to patriotic Bollywood songs, while others waited beneath a large canopy in the colours of the Indian flag to hear opposition leaders speak.

Gandhi and several senior opposition leaders arrived at the venue in an open jeep, travelling through crowds of cheering supporters.

The event was also attended by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, alongside leaders of regional parties such as Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Mehbooba Mufti, Supriya Sule and Tejashwi Yadav.

Addressing the crowds, Rahul Gandhi said those gathered had sent a message to Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

“This is not the voice of a single political party or of politicians. It is the voice of India’s youth, women, farmers and workers,” he said.

“We will not allow democracy to be destroyed in India. We will not allow the constitution to be destroyed.”

Other opposition leaders echoed Gandhi’s criticism of the Election Commission. Congress president Kharge said the alliance would continue its campaign until Kumar resigned, while Banerjee pledged to keep fighting against what she described as threats to democracy.

Speaking to reporters in Delhi on Sunday, senior BJP leader and federal minister JP Nadda accused the opposition of trying to create unrest and destabilise the government under the guise of defending democracy.

He described the rally as a “calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy – in the name of democracy”.

At the centre of the dispute is an exercise known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which has resulted in more than 130 million names being removed from India’s draft electoral rolls.

The Election Commission says the exercise is intended to remove duplicate registrations and the names of people who have died, moved away or are otherwise ineligible to vote. It says eligible voters who have been wrongly excluded can seek to have their names restored.

But opposition parties allege that the process is removing legitimate voters and could benefit the governing BJP in future elections.

The controversy deepened in September when The Indian Express newspaper reported, external that Kumar had made key decisions about the revision despite repeated objections from the two other election commissioners.

The poll panel said differences of opinion were normal in any institution and did not affect its functioning.

Sunday’s rally followed weeks of protests over the voter-list revision, including demonstrations by student groups and the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Last month, Gandhi led tens of thousands on a march from central Delhi’s Connaught Place to the Supreme Court, demanding Kumar’s resignation.

The CJP also backed Sunday’s rally but chose not to participate. Its founder Abhijeet Dipke said the group wanted to maintain its independence from established political parties.

The event took place under strict conditions imposed by Delhi Police. According to local media reports, organisers were required to end the gathering by 5pm, install CCTV cameras at the venue and ensure that protesters did not march beyond the designated grounds.

The restrictions came against a backdrop of tensions over the policing of demonstrations in the capital. On 10 October, several leaders of the CJP were detained during protests against Kumar, while BBC reporters witnessed police dragging demonstrators away and beating some with batons.

At Ramlila Maidan, however, the atmosphere was largely peaceful, with people of different ages and professions turning out to express their concerns about the integrity of India’s elections.

“We don’t even know if this is a people’s mandate or a stolen mandate,” Isha, a development sector professional from Delhi, told the BBC.

Deepro Guha, a lawyer from Delhi, said he was concerned about the way the revision had been carried out.

“It’s important because voting is the basis of democracy. If people’s names are removed without any explanation, there is a problem,” he said.

On Saturday, opposition leaders also staged a symbolic impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of undermining the electoral process.

The proceedings were purely symbolic and had no legal standing. Under Indian law, the chief election commissioner can only be removed through a formal parliamentary process.

But the move was another show of unity by the INDIA bloc, an alliance of opposition parties formed in 2023 to to take on Modi’s BJP.

Modi did not directly comment on the mock impeachment, but at public rallies on Friday and Saturday he accused opposition parties of trying to create chaos and undermining the dignity of the constitution.