Delhi authorities have deployed more than 23,000 security personnel and announced extensive restrictions on public movement ahead of an October 10 protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and Opposition INDIA bloc leaders against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest is expected to focus on alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls. The CJP, led by founder Abhijeet Dipke, and Opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Abhishek Banerjee, Derek O’Brien and Akhilesh Yadav are demanding Kumar’s resignation and the suspension of the revision exercise, according to the report.
The Opposition has alleged that arbitrary deletions from electoral rolls could affect citizens’ voting rights. The Election Commission has denied any wrongdoing. Dipke has warned that citizens from across the country could march towards Jantar Mantar if the authorities do not act on the demands.
The planned mobilisation follows earlier demonstrations that, according to the report, ended in widespread detentions. Delhi Police have responded by placing barricades and restricting large gatherings in the New Delhi district under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. Police said the restrictions were imposed to prevent a large-scale law-and-order disruption.
The security arrangements are also expected to affect the city’s transport network. The report said 57 Metro stations across the National Capital Region have been shut ahead of the protest. It also reported that New Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin railway stations have been closed and that train services to and from the stations have been suspended. The measures could affect commuters, railway passengers and people travelling through central Delhi during the protest period.
The scale of the restrictions places the protest within a wider urban governance challenge: how Delhi manages large political gatherings while keeping its transport systems operational for residents and visitors. Metro stations, railway terminals and arterial roads serve as essential links between the capital and the wider NCR, meaning security decisions in central Delhi can have consequences well beyond the protest site.
The report did not specify how long the Metro and railway restrictions would remain in place, nor did it provide a station-wise list of the affected facilities. It said authorities had imposed the measures in anticipation of the October 10 mobilisation, while the Opposition continued to press its demands over the voter-roll revision. Further directions from the police and transport authorities are expected before the protest.
