With protests continuing for the third day on Sunday against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Election Commission of India while saying it cannot go by newspaper reports alone.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant was hearing the pleas that CEC Gyanesh Kumar was taking unilateral decisions in the poll body even when the other Election Commissioners differed. The bench said if law wasn’t followed, it can undo it, referring to the plea which highlighted that the EC should have followed collective decision making.

The main grouse against the unilateral functioning of the Election Commission is that in the garb of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls over 13 crore citizens have been disenfranchised.

With the plea due for hearing on Monday, Sunday saw pitched confrontations between protesters, some led by the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and other Left student bodies and some led by Cockroach Janta Party, with Delhi Police personnel. Many women protesters charged Delhi Police personnel without nametags groped them.

Several student leaders including AISA’s Neha Bora were picked up by police when they were on their way to Jantar Mantar to protest demanding the sacking or resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. With the yellow amaltas, a winter flower, yet to bud, the police’s yellow barricades seemd to be in full bloom blocking access to the EC headquarters, Nirvachan Sadan on Ashoka Road.

The students are said to have gotten together near Andhra Bhavan circle on Ashoka Road and were making their way to Jantar Mantar. But police personnel were deployed to prevent them from going to Jantar Mantar, which was the seat of the July protests that revolved around the demand for the sacking of Dharmendra Pradhan following the successive leaks in NEET UG.

Newly appointed Uttar Pradesh Congress president Aradhana Mishra, also known as Mona, has said the party will take its alliance with the Samajwadi Party forward with full strength ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly election.

Mishra, the daughter of Congress MP Pramod Tiwari, has been given the responsibility of leading the party’s state unit as Congress prepares for the assembly polls due in around six months, according to the report.

Speaking about Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Mishra described the SP as a strong partner of the Congress in the INDIA bloc.

“The Samajwadi Party is a partner of ours in the INDIA bloc, and a strong one at that,” she said, while praising the way Akhilesh Yadav has strengthened his party.

Aradhana Mishra backs Congress-SP alliance

Mishra referred to the performance of the INDIA bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha election in Uttar Pradesh while discussing the alliance’s prospects for the next assembly election.

The INDIA bloc won 43 of Uttar Pradesh’s 80 Lok Sabha seats in the 2024 election, according to the report.

Mishra said the alliance had stopped the BJP’s advance in Uttar Pradesh in the 2024 Lok Sabha election and expressed confidence that the partnership would produce results in the 2027 Assembly election.

“We will take this alliance forward with full strength,” she said.

The new state Congress chief will also have to advance seat-sharing discussions with the Samajwadi Party. The report said Congress wants a larger share of seats, while the SP has not indicated a willingness to give ground, arguing that it is in a stronger position in the state.

Congress announces new UP team

The leadership change is part of a wider organisational reshuffle by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh.

Along with appointing Mishra as state Congress president, the party named Rajya Sabha MP Imran Masood as working president. Chaudhary Virendra Singh was appointed Leader of the Congress Legislature Party.

Devinder Nishad and Alok Prasad were also appointed senior vice presidents of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.

The new appointments bring different social groups into prominent positions in the state organisation. Mishra is a Brahmin, Masood is a Muslim and Rajendra Pal Gautam, the Congress’ AICC in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, is a Dalit, the report said.

Mishra, however, said the Congress does not practise caste or religion-based politics.

She said the party wanted to strengthen the country, protect the Constitution and build a strong alternative ahead of the 2027 election.

Mishra’s challenge ahead of 2027 polls

As the new Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, Mishra will be responsible for strengthening the party’s organisation in the state while also taking forward its alliance with the Samajwadi Party.

The Congress and SP are part of the INDIA bloc in Uttar Pradesh. With seat-sharing discussions ahead of the 2027 Assembly election, Mishra’s comments indicate that the Congress intends to continue working with the Samajwadi Party.

The appointment of Mishra comes alongside other organisational changes aimed at preparing the party for the upcoming assembly election.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Abhijeet Dipke has announced a fresh protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10, saying the demonstration will be held if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign.

Dipke made the announcement after a CJP demonstration at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. He called on people from across the country to join the proposed Delhi protest, describing it as a peaceful agitation.

Abhijeet Dipke’s October 10 protest call

In a post on X, Dipke said CJP supporters would march to Delhi and hold a protest at Jantar Mantar if Kumar did not step down. He also said that if Delhi Police stopped the protesters, the location where they were stopped would become their protest site.

The CJP leader had earlier warned of a larger agitation while addressing the gathering at Shivaji Park. He said that if the Chief Election Commissioner did not resign, the movement would expand to Delhi.

CJP’s allegations against the Election Commission

During the Mumbai protest, Dipke alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and questioned decisions concerning the election process. He claimed that 13 crore voters had been deleted over two years and alleged that voter deletions had affected electoral outcomes in several states.

These claims were made by Dipke while addressing the protesters and were not presented in the report as independently established facts.

He also alleged that voters were deleted from constituencies in Delhi, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and linked these alleged deletions to election results.

The CJP leader further criticised the proposed simultaneous elections framework, alleging that the ruling BJP’s objective was “One Nation, One Election, One Party”.

CJP demands Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation

CJP leaders have been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and have also called for criminal proceedings against him.

The group has criticised the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and has demanded changes to the law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners.

The Election Commission, however, has said that decisions of the three-member poll body, including those concerning the SIR exercise, were taken unanimously.

Protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park

The October 10 Delhi announcement followed a CJP demonstration at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. The protest was held despite police denying permission for the event, according to the report.

Several groups and individuals participated in the demonstration. The Shiv Sena (UBT) had also extended support to the CJP’s agitation.

Dipke said the CJP would continue its campaign and called for the proposed October 10 demonstration in Delhi under the slogan “Chalo Delhi”.