NEW DELHI: Thous­a­nds of police were deplo­yed across the Indian capital on Friday, a day before pla­nned protests to demand the election commission chief step down over alle­ged voter-roll irregularities.

Demonstrations have erupted this month over the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) “special intensive revision” of electoral rolls, which the commission says is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible voters.

Opposition parties and critics allege the exercise could disenfranchise voters to the benefit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP.

A wave of street protests, including in New Delhi, has attracted key leaders from India’s main opposition Congress party, including Rahul Gandhi, who was briefly detained during rallies this week.

Protesters, including from the youth-led Cock­roach Janta Party (CJP) movement, are calling for mass rallies in New Delhi on Saturday.

The CJP leader said the planned protest would go ahead despite the detentions of followers he estimated to run into the thousands, calling for the resignation of the top poll official.

“I’ll be landing in Delhi tomorrow and will march to Jantar Mantar, come what may,” Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the CJP, said on X on Friday, referring to a designated protest site in the capital.

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in parliament, and other opposition leaders met President Droupadi Mur­mu late on Friday and submitted a memorandum of their complaints against ECI chief Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter theft.

More than 20,000 police and paramilitary officers have been deployed in the capital ahead of the protest, the Press Trust of India reported. Yellow metal barricades blocked key roads in the city centre, restricting access to the government-designated protest site of Jantar Mantar.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2026