Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav argued on 2 October that constitutional institutions, including the Election Commission, would be unable to function free of partisan influence for as long as the Bharatiya Janata Party remained in government. Speaking at a press conference in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, Yadav directed criticism at both the central government and the Election Commission, pointing to questions raised by the Special Intensive Revision exercise.
Yadav remarked that administrations facing the end of their tenure tend to act unjustly as a way of holding on to power. He also alleged that fabricated complaints are lodged against individuals as a means of applying pressure on them.
Yadav contended that those who secured electoral victories through the Election Commission now face questions about that body's impartiality. He added that both political parties and the broader public had begun to doubt the Commission's independence from the ruling administration, and maintained that the BJP and the Commission appeared to be operating in coordination during elections. He further stated that several figures currently holding office subscribe to the same ideological tradition as the individual who was charged and tried for the killing of Mahatma Gandhi, and said no meaningful outcome could be anticipated from that group.
The dispute deepened after a broadcast outlet described as reputable published findings that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 separate occasions across a ten-month period, covering decisions and procedures connected to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters. One party leader argued that conditions would remain unchanged until the BJP lost power and constitutional bodies, including the Election Commission, operated without partisan influence.
Among the complaints put forward were disputes over Form 6, the removal of names from voter rolls, and how parties could gain access to electoral-roll databases. The Election Commission characterised those objections as inputs raised during the policy-drafting stage, noting that queries, inputs, and recommendations submitted while policy is still being drafted fall within its established administrative workflow. The Commission also noted that voting on the timetable for the SIR exercise was carried out unanimously.
Rallies and marches brought together community organisations and political groups while underlying tensions had yet to subside. Members of the Cockroach Janata Party, along with supporters from allied organisations, gathered at Shivaji Park in Mumbai to raise concerns over what they described as irregularities in the SIR process.
Activists from the Students' Federation of India and the Democratic Youth Federation of India joined opposition figures at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to be removed from his post. Authorities took several opposition figures into custody — among them Aam Aadmi Party legislator Saurabh Bhardwaj — invoking powers granted under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which permits the imposition of movement and assembly restrictions.
Rallies scheduled for 6 October and a Delhi gathering on 1 November form part of a wider campaign by the INDIA bloc, whose constituent parties have been working to mount a formal challenge against the Chief Election Commissioner.
