Left-Wing Activists Stage Protests in Central Delhi Over Election Commission Process

NEW DELHI — Left-wing organisations and activists staged demonstrations along Raisina Road on Friday, demanding the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner over the Special Intensive Revision process.

The protests drew heavy security deployments across central Delhi, where Delhi Police and paramilitary forces erected barricades and moved several demonstrators to detention centres in waiting buses.

The demonstrations coincided with heightened tensions following the preventive arrest of Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke ahead of a planned Tiranga Rally on October 16. According to Delhi Police, Dipke was taken into custody for allegedly violating peace bond conditions and disturbing public order.

A confrontation erupted outside the Mandir Marg Police Station after officers restricted the number of advocates permitted entry to represent Dipke during his magistrate production. Saurabh Das and Ashutosh Ranka were subsequently remanded to five-day judicial custody.

Jantar Mantar has previously been denotified as an official protest venue, adding to friction surrounding public demonstrations in the capital. Authorities are examining whether Dipke will be released upon furnishing a new peace bond or remanded further.