New Dehli, Reuters
Authorities in India's capital, Delhi, are deploying thousands of police and paramilitary personnel ahead of a protest scheduled for Saturday by the "Cockroach" youth movement, which is demanding the resignation of the country's election chief over a revision of voter lists.
Several long-distance trains arriving in Delhi were also cancelled on Friday, while 57 metro stations were set to close from Friday night, authorities said. The measures followed organisers' announcement that they expected thousands of people to join the protest.
Anger over the voter verification drive, which began last year, has become one of the biggest political controversies since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. The controversy comes ahead of crucial state elections scheduled to begin early next year.
Election Commission data, also cited by the BJP, shows that about 130 million names—more than Japan's population—have been deleted from voter lists during the verification exercise. These include 63 million people who had relocated, 30 million who could not be traced and 28 million who were dead.
Youth 'No Longer Scared', cockroach movement says
Opposition parties say the voter deletions affected the outcomes of some recent state elections won by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), casting a shadow over the electoral process in the world's largest democracy.
The BJP maintains that Modi's popularity and India's economic growth are among the key reasons for its electoral dominance.
Thousands of police and paramilitary personnel, including some deployed from sensitive areas such as Indian Kashmir, were being sent to the capital ahead of the protest, according to a government document seen by Reuters.
The Cockroach movement, however, remained defiant.
"The youth of this country are no longer scared of you," founder Abhijeet Dipke said in a post on X, addressing Modi ahead of the protests.
The self-styled "Cockroach Janta Party" (CJP), a youth movement that began as online satire, said it wanted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign. Its demand echoes those of opposition parties, which have been protesting almost daily since last week.
The CJP gained popularity this year after weeks of agitation against exam paper leaks culminated in the resignation of the education minister, dealing Modi his biggest political setback in years.
Seven states due to vote in 2027
The BJP and the Election Commission deny allegations of election manipulation. Opposition parties, however, say Muslim voters and other minorities, who are unlikely to support the Hindu nationalist ruling party, have been disproportionately affected by the deletions.
At least seven Indian states are due to hold elections in 2027, including Uttar Pradesh, which is governed by the BJP. India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is considered a bellwether in national politics. Parliamentary elections are not due until 2029.
India, which had at least 960 million eligible voters in 2024, began the verification drive last year ahead of elections in the eastern state of Bihar. The exercise has now covered the majority of states.
Police in the capital said the CJP had not received permission to hold Saturday's protest and could face legal action if demonstrators violated the rules.
The CJP said police in several states were detaining thousands of its supporters as they travelled to attend Saturday's protest.
