New Delhi | October 2026: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) continued its protest against alleged “vote theft” on Monday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. For the third consecutive day, AAP leaders and workers took to the streets to march towards Jantar Mantar, where Delhi Police again detained several party leaders, including Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj.
As a large number of party workers marched towards the protest site, police personnel allegedly used force to stop them and detained the leaders, placing them in buses.
During the protest, Sanjay Singh demanded Kumar’s resignation, elections through ballot papers and an impartial process for selecting Election Commissioners. He also urged the government to provide Ramlila Maidan as a venue for the demonstration.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that Gyanesh Kumar should resign over what he claimed was the “theft” of 13.37 crore votes. He called for elections to be conducted using ballot papers and demanded reforms in the process of appointing Election Commissioners, arguing that the government should not have a majority in the selection mechanism.
Singh also appealed to the government to allocate Ramlila Maidan for the party’s protest.
Meanwhile, AAP’s Delhi unit president, Saurabh Bharadwaj, said the agitation would continue until Kumar resigned.
He alleged that Delhi Police had used excessive force against protesters and said the party would continue to pursue its demands peacefully despite the police action.
“Whether Delhi Police uses batons, drags us on the streets, tears our clothes or injures our heads, we will continue to demand our rights through non-violence and will ensure that Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” Bharadwaj said.
Bharadwaj also criticised the decision to de-notify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, claiming that it reflected the government’s nervousness over the growing public participation in the demonstrations.
He alleged that the authorities were attempting to move protesters away from the site because large numbers of citizens, including young people and women, were joining the demonstrations.
He said the party would be willing to shift its protest to Ramlila Maidan if the government provided the venue.
In a video shared on social media platform X, Bharadwaj alleged that Delhi Police personnel had tried to choke him during the protest. He claimed this was the second such incident involving him and said AAP leader Abhishek Kumar had raised an alarm, alleging that police personnel were choking Bharadwaj.
According to Bharadwaj, a police officer also pushed Kumar in the face. He further alleged that police personnel deliberately surrounded him to prevent media cameras from recording the incident. He called on the Lieutenant Governor to order an inquiry into the matter.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai reiterated that the party’s agitation would continue wherever permission or space was available.
Rai said the movement would continue until the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was withdrawn, Gyanesh Kumar resigned and steps were taken to ensure impartial elections.
The AAP has maintained that its campaign is aimed at protecting electoral integrity and ensuring fairness in the democratic process. The allegations of vote theft and police misconduct were made by the party, while the demands for the CEC’s resignation and ballot-paper voting remain central to its ongoing protests.
