BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Thursday (October 8, 2026) attacked Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his protest against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing him of having an “anarchist mindset” and trying to spread “poison” in society.

His remarks came after the Congress leader on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) led the INDIA bloc leaders’ street protests before being detained again along with many MPs by police.

“I can only say that they are of ‘arajaktawadi’ (anarchist) mindset and trying to spread poison in society. If he had such objections, elections in Kerala were also conducted by the same Election Commission. The election in Tamil Nadu, where they have come to power, was also conducted by the same Election Commission,” Mr. Nabin said “If Rahul Gandhi has the courage, he should first resign. The people are watching the manner in which he is playing this game,” he said.

Mr. Nabin also accused the Leader of Opposition of protecting infiltrators.

“Those who come to India from different places and deprive the people of their rights are being opposed. I believe that the people of India have the right over the country’s resources, wealth and land. We will not allow infiltrators to claim these rights,” he said.

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The BJP will always oppose attempts to settle people in India with a “foreign mindset”, Mr. Nabin added.

The Congress has been demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation after The Indian Express reported that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders mostly related to the Special Intensive Revision process.

Under fire over red flags raised by two of its commissioners, the ECI has asserted that differing views and observations are a part of deliberations in any institution and all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.

Earlier, Mr. Nabin offered prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple here and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the temple corridor.

“I congratulate Narendra Modi ji and respected Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ji for the corridor. You have given a very grand and distinct form to a centre of faith for crores of Sanatanis,” he said.

Asked about the BJP’s election preparations, Mr. Nabin said the party’s workers function round-the-clock.

“A BJP worker works 24×7. For us, every day is a working day and every day is an election day. We are not among those who come only during the election season. Our programmes, our work and our communication with the people continue throughout the year,” he said.

Three days after the Delhi Police detained protesters attempting to reach Jantar Mantar, a delegation of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), led by its president Neha Bora, on Monday submitted an “intimation letter” at the Parliament Street police station about a proposed protest on October 2 demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the electoral process. 

The delegation included activist Yogendra Yadav, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, social activist Nikhil Dey and educationist Nandita Narain. 

“The right of citizens to peacefully assemble and express their views is an important constitutional freedom,” the letter stated, adding, “It is in exercise of this fundamental right that we are intimating you.” 

‘Not a permission’ 

Delhi Police acknowledged receipt of the letter but clarified that this did not amount to permission for the protest. A stamp on the letter read, “This is not a permission. It is only an acknowledgement of your letter.” 

The organisers, however, said the protest would go ahead at 11 a.m. on October 2. 

“It is up to the Delhi police to facilitate us or to face us,” Ms. Bora said after submitting the letter. 

Concerns over SIR

 

According to the letter, the protest will raise concerns over the “recent functioning and actions” of the Election Commission (EC) and “the actions and decisions of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar”. 

The organisers have centred their concerns on the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and its alleged impact on voters. The letter claims that “thirteen crore people have been excluded from the voter roll already” and raises concerns over the manner in which the revision is being undertaken and changes relating to Form 6. 

The organisers said the protest intended to seek “accountability, transparency and protection of the electoral rights of citizens”. 

The group called upon “all friends of the democratic movement and concerned citizens” to join the protest and asked the police to take necessary steps to facilitate the “peaceful and lawful exercise of our democratic and constitutional rights without unnecessary obstruction or hindrance”. 

Bora questions police action

On September 25, more than 50 protesters, including Ms. Bora, Mr. Yadav and Mr. Bhushan, were detained near Jantar Mantar during an AISA-led protest against the SIR exercise and demanding Mr. Kumar’s resignation. 

In a video message ahead of Monday’s submission, Ms. Bora questioned the police action against protesters seeking to demonstrate at what she described as a designated protest site. 

“First, you steal our right to vote, then we go to protest against this at Jantar Mantar, a designated protest site, and you then steal our right to democratic dissent. This police is denying citizens the right to protest, on the basis of which law and on whose orders?” she said. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (September 27, 2026) fielded its Chief Ministers and stepped up its attack on the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, the Congress, and its allies over the special intensive revision (SIR), accusing them of making unsubstantiated claims.

Alleging that Mr. Gandhi and other Opposition leaders were conspiring to malign the country’s constitutional institutions, the BJP said the Election Commission of India had already issued a press noteand a fact-based clarification of the “fabricated allegations”.

“Despite this, the Congress and its allies, frustrated by their repeated electoral defeats, remain determined to undermine constitutional propriety in an attempt to conceal their failures. From North to South and East to West, this misinformation aimed at weakening the country’s democratic framework and creating anarchy is being strongly countered across the nation,” the party said in a statement.

Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath, Devendra Fadnavis, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Bhajan Lal Sharma, Bhupendra Patel, Nayab Singh Saini, Vishnu Deo Sai, Pushkar Singh Dhami, Rekha Gupta, Samrat Choudhary, Mohan Yadav and Suvendu Adhikari hit out at the Congress. In States where the BJP is not in power, the party’s State presidents or Leader of the Opposition addressed press conferences.

Mr. Fadnavis accused Mr. Gandhi of seeking to discredit institutions under the guise of defending the Constitution and deliberately creating confusion and chaos by repeatedly questioning constitutional bodies. “There has been no vote theft; Rahul Gandhi’s mind has been stolen,” he said.

Alleging that the Opposition parties had created confusion over the SIR, Mr. Adityanath sought an apology from the Congress and its allies.

Mr. Sarma described the Opposition as an “alliance of defeated people”, while Mr. Yadav alleged that Mr. Gandhi was spreading falsehoods after failing to manage his party.

Mr. Sai said that “frustrated after losing more than 100 elections”, the Congress had now “resorted to anti-national conduct”. The press note by the Election Commissioners had exposed its “lies”, he said.

Ms. Gupta demanded an apology, accusing the Opposition of “creating this baseless controversy to divert attention from its failures, its betrayal of the country and the development works being undertaken”.

Mr. Patel slammed the Congress’s “double standards” and said that when the Congress won elections, it hailed the outcome as a victory of democracy, but would make baseless claims of vote theft and electoral malpractice after a loss.

Mr. Choudhary said the “purification” of the voter list was necessary because “booth capturing” no longer took place in the country. Mr. Adhikari said the Congress supported SIR in Kerala because it won there but opposed it in West Bengal after losing the election. He said judicial officers were dealing with names rejected due to logical discrepancies, adding that the Opposition was misleading the public.