The gathering of hundreds of thousands of people at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, organised by the Congress-led INDIA bloc parties, was a milestone in the battle for the restoration of the integrity of India’s election process. As more and more skeletons tumble out the of the closet of the Election Commission of India (ECI), its chief Gyanesh Kumar has chosen silence while the ruling BJP has rushed to shield him from criticism.

The united outcry of protest by the Opposition, led by the Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, is a strong signal of public opinion for the ruling party and India’s institutions, including the ECI, that appear complicit in a scheme that threatens the foundations of Indian democracy. What remains unexplained by the ECI and Mr.

Kumar are malpractices in the Special Intensive Revision that could have the effect of subverting the popular will. Protestors on Sunday had arrived from all parts of India, and included people directly affected by the SIR across the country.The protest reinforced Mr.

Gandhi’s central role as the key challenger of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr.

Gandhi, for all his faults, has been an uncompromising champion of constitutional values and pluralism in India. The BJP caricatured him, and even non-BJP voices had bought into the idea of Mr.

Gandhi being a privileged dynast out of touch with the commoner. While his ancestry is a matter of fact, so is his tenacity.

All Opposition parties mobilised for the protest, but the centrality of the Congress party was unmistakable. Mr.

Gandhi has a special focus on subaltern classes to be included in positions of responsibility in the party. The Sunday protest was clearly the largest show of strength in recent memory.

The manner in which the Congress coordinated with the wide spectrum of the Opposition, often involving rivals in States, also indicates a clear sense of purpose and pragmatism. The call for the restoration of institutional integrity is the need of the hour; but Mr.

Gandhi must be careful not to misstate the nature of the crisis. In his well-reasoned call for accountability of the ECI, Mr.

Gandhi ended up questioning the legitimacy of the previous election without providing any substantive basis for his allegations. He must remember that his emergence as the voice of the Opposition places on him the responsibility of being measured in his speeches and his steps.

Published - November 03, 2026 01:02 am IST