Delhi braces for massive protest as police deploy over 20,000 officers

In anticipation of protests targeting the Election Commission of India’s chief, more than 20,000 police and paramilitary officers have been deployed across New Delhi. The demonstrations arise from the commission’s “special intensive revision” of electoral rolls, which opponents say could disenfranchise voters to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. Opposition leaders such as Rahul Gandhi are set to meet President Droupadi Murmu to lodge complaints, while the police have erected barricades around Jantar Mantar and ordered the closure of entry and exit gates at 57 Delhi Metro stations from 9 p.m. on October 9.

Train services at two major stations have also been suspended. The Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-driven satirical movement, alleges its volunteers are being detained, a claim the police have not addressed. The Election Commission maintains that its actions are lawful and transparent.