Congress workers from across the country also attended the opposition mega rally organised under Congress leadership. Shahzad Khan, a Congress worker who travelled from Gujarat, told BBC that the gathering was attracting not just party workers but also large numbers of ordinary people.
At around 1 pm to 1.30 pm, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi travelled through Minto Bridge in an open bus, accompanied by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav. Workers from both parties struggled to get close to the bus and catch a glimpse of their leaders.
Several protesters carried posters featuring the face of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They raised slogans directly targeting Kumar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The rally was organised to protest alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. People from different parts of the country travelled to Delhi to participate in the demonstration.
Roads around Ramlila Maidan were crowded, while people continued entering the venue through its access points. The gathering was so large that reaching the ground required considerable effort.
Workers from the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and other INDIA bloc constituents participated in the rally. However, the concerns expressed by those attending went beyond political party support. Several participants raised questions about transparency in the electoral process and the protection of their voting rights.
A software engineer attending the demonstration said she was not associated with any political party but considered the issue extremely serious.
"I am a software engineer. I am not associated with any party. But I know this issue is extremely serious. If vote theft has taken place, there can be no bigger issue than this," she said.
A protester who travelled from Bihar said he had come to demand Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and defend the Constitution.
With Congress and its allies united in demanding the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner, the rally demonstrated the opposition's collective protest. However, two senior journalists who spoke to BBC News Hindi's associate correspondent Dushyant Kumar offered different assessments of the political strength the gathering could provide to the Congress and its potential impact on future elections.
Senior journalist Sharad Gupta said the roads and the rally ground were packed, allowing the opposition to send a strong message against the government.
The Congress had appealed not only to its workers but also to students and social organisations to participate. Gupta considered this an important aspect of the mobilisation.
According to him, the opposition had conveyed that it would continue taking its grievances to the public through protests. Parties that had been unable to advance their demands effectively inside Parliament had brought those issues before the people through the rally. He viewed this as a source of strength for opposition politics.
Senior journalist Ramkripal Singh, however, raised a different question about the gathering.
He pointed out that opposition rallies had attracted large crowds in the past as well. The real test, he said, was how political parties maintained coordination after such gatherings and whether the Congress could strengthen its own position.
Can Rally Support Turn Into a Credible Political Alternative?
According to Ramkripal Singh, being dissatisfied with the ruling government and accepting another party as its alternative are two different things. Voters also consider whether the opposition party can deliver what they believe the existing government has failed to provide.
"An unhappy voter faces the question of whom to trust in place of a government they are dissatisfied with. A rally can give a voice to that dissatisfaction, but building confidence in an alternative is equally important," he said.
In his assessment, public anger against the government will benefit the Congress only when people begin to see it as a credible alternative. For that, the party must strengthen its political and organisational capabilities. Holding rallies and bringing leaders together cannot achieve this on their own.
However, Singh also considers the Congress important in providing a national-level alternative to the BJP.
He argued that a national party such as the BJP or Congress is necessary to bring different parties together and provide a stable five-year government.
He referred to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and West Bengal, saying that establishing a national challenge to the BJP would be difficult without a stronger Congress presence in these states.
In his view, the Congress must develop the ability to guide the alliance rather than remain dependent on its regional partners. Its national role and its political strength in individual states are closely connected.
"The Congress faces two challenges. It must give a voice to dissatisfaction with the government while also building confidence that it can become an alternative to that government," he said.
Will INDIA Bloc Unity Survive Beyond the Rally Stage?
Several small and large constituents of the INDIA bloc came together under the alliance banner at Ramlila Maidan. The Aam Aadmi Party was the only major opposition party absent from the gathering. The party is preparing for an upcoming election in Punjab, where it is seeking to retain power.
The unity displayed by the alliance partners on the stage raised questions about whether the same cooperation could continue during elections. This comes amid reports of disagreements between the Congress and the Samajwadi Party over seat-sharing in Uttar Pradesh.
Ramkripal Singh said regional parties assess their state-level political interests once they leave a common opposition platform.
Coming together on a shared issue is considerably easier for these parties than giving up seats during elections or accepting another party's leadership.
He stressed that political leaders meeting on a common platform does not automatically mean their voters will come together. Opposition unity must therefore be assessed not only through the leaders present at rallies but also through electoral agreements and coordination in individual states.
He cited the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as an example of electoral coordination in Uttar Pradesh.
"The Congress and the Samajwadi Party reached a seat-sharing agreement for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Under that arrangement, the Congress received 17 seats. However, the agreement for the Lok Sabha elections does not determine seat-sharing for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections," he said.
Singh does not expect the Congress and the Samajwadi Party to reach an easy agreement over seats in the state. His central question is how much political space parties that are already strong in their respective states will be willing to give the Congress.
Sharad Gupta offered a different perspective. He said national parties would have to coordinate with regional parties in states where the latter have a stronger presence.
Accepting a smaller role in a particular state does not mean a national party cannot strengthen its position in the future, he argued.
Gupta cited the BJP's political journey as an example, noting that the party had played a smaller role than its allies in some states before eventually emerging as the dominant party.
He also referred to the BJP losing power at the Centre in 2004 and returning to power in 2014.
According to him, a party's relatively weak position at a particular point in time does not permanently determine its political prospects.
He also cited the changing balance of power between the BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. For a long time, Shiv Sena had played the larger role in their relationship. However, following the 2014 Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the largest party.
Gupta argued that political equations and the relative strength of parties change over time. The Congress's current weakness in some states, therefore, should not be treated as a permanent assessment of its future prospects.
From a Common Demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's Resignation to a Shared Political Programme
Opposition parties at Ramlila Maidan appeared united around their demand for action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. However, whether agreement on a common demand could translate into a Common Minimum Programme between the parties remained a separate question.
Sharad Gupta does not consider political differences between parties evidence that an alliance cannot work.
According to him, parties that compete against each other in state elections can still cooperate on national issues. He saw the rally as an indication that such agreement was possible.
He referred to two Maharashtra elections to illustrate how political relationships can change.
"The BJP and Shiv Sena contested the 2014 Assembly elections separately. In 2019, they contested together, but their alliance broke down after the elections over the Chief Minister's post," he said.
Even a pre-election partnership can take a different direction when it comes to forming a government. The challenge before the Congress and its allies is to connect their shared opposition to the government with a workable political arrangement for the future.
According to Gupta, this requires agreement between national and regional priorities. While regional parties will have their own issues, the alliance must also develop a common position on national matters.
Meanwhile, speeches by opposition leaders at the Ramlila Maidan rally repeatedly focused on electoral transparency and the revision of voter lists.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi declared from the stage, "We will not allow democracy to be destroyed in India."
He questioned the electoral process and described the issue as vote theft. The opposition has alleged that irregularities in electoral rolls could undermine the credibility of elections.
Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav also targeted the BJP.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party will no longer be able to lie before the country. The people of the country have understood both. The Bharatiya Janata Party is now a party that is going to lose," he said.
Speaking to BBC News Hindi, Akhilesh Yadav said, "The BJP came to power in the country through Uttar Pradesh. Now, it will be removed from power through Uttar Pradesh."
While the rally's national message focused on challenging the BJP, Akhilesh Yadav emphasised Uttar Pradesh's role in that political contest.
The differing assessments of the two senior journalists regarding the relationship between the Congress and regional parties revolve around the same question: how will political coordination at the state level translate into a national challenge to the BJP?
Gupta believes the alliance must develop its own agenda, combining the individual concerns of regional parties with a shared understanding of national issues.
For Ramkripal Singh, the Congress can strengthen its position within the alliance only by increasing its own political strength in the states.
The Question Beyond the SIR Protest
The central issue behind the INDIA bloc rally was opposition to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The opposition alleges that irregularities occurred during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, raising questions about the fairness of the electoral process.
The protest movement began on October 2. A march was subsequently held towards the Supreme Court on October 12. The mega rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 brought the campaign into focus as a large-scale political demonstration.
Opposition parties have described the campaign as a fight to protect democracy and the Constitution. Some leaders have also called it a "second freedom movement".
A day before the rally, the Congress and its allies held a symbolic Parliament session at Mallikarjun Kharge's residence and passed a resolution demanding the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner.
On Sunday, leaders and workers gathered at Ramlila Maidan to reiterate the same demand.
Sharad Gupta believes the opposition succeeded in communicating its grievances over the SIR to the public. He also links the reactions of BJP leaders to their concern about the campaign.
According to Gupta, the Congress and Rahul Gandhi have remained consistently active on the issue, giving fresh momentum to opposition politics. However, the campaign's political impact will also have to be assessed through election results.
He also pointed out a contradiction in the opposition's position.
Gupta said the opposition was alleging that elections were not being conducted fairly. In that situation, he questioned whether election results could still be treated as the benchmark for measuring public support for the campaign.
Ramkripal Singh, on the other hand, emphasised the Congress's responsibility to establish itself as an alternative.
According to him, people dissatisfied with the government must have confidence that the Congress and its allies can address their grievances. This makes the political and organisational preparations after the rally particularly important.
Election Commission and BJP Reject Opposition's Allegations
The Election Commission and the BJP have consistently rejected the opposition's allegations concerning voter lists and the electoral process.
In its response submitted to the Supreme Court on October 26, the Election Commission stated that all three orders related to the SIR had been issued with the consent of all three members of the Commission.
The Commission maintained that a question or suggestion raised by an election commissioner does not automatically constitute a final decision.
It also rejected allegations that Form 6 had been altered. According to the Commission, the additional declaration required for the SIR is a separate document. No name can be added, deleted or changed without an order from the concerned Electoral Registration Officer.
The BJP has also questioned the opposition's campaign.
On Sunday, Home Minister Amit Shah accused Rahul Gandhi of choosing November 1 for the rally to rub salt into the wounds of victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Chandigarh.
Shah also accused the opposition of creating anarchy, spreading misinformation and disrupting parliamentary proceedings.
What Remains After the Ramlila Maidan Rally?
For those who gathered at Ramlila Maidan, the rally provided an opportunity to express concerns about their voting rights and the protection of democracy. The opposition is attempting to turn the issue into a larger political movement.
Sharad Gupta considers the gathering important in terms of the opposition's visibility and political activity.
Ramkripal Singh, however, believes the Congress must now focus on strengthening its organisation and turning the alliance into a credible electoral alternative.
Around Ramlila Maidan, people were trying to estimate the size of the gathering. Several journalists were also discussing the turnout.
Most believed they had not witnessed such a large crowd at a political rally in recent years.
As soon as Rahul Gandhi's speech ended, the rally concluded, and Ramlila Maidan emptied within the next few minutes.
The crowd had made its presence felt. The larger question left behind was whether the opposition could turn its campaign against alleged vote theft into an electoral victory.
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