Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders from West Bengal and Bihar have sharply criticised the Opposition's ongoing demonstrations against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing the INDIA Bloc of spreading misleading propaganda and orchestrating a media spectacle ahead of upcoming state elections. The remarks came on 3 October 2026 as protests across the country intensified over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Dilip Ghosh Targets INDIA Bloc Over Timing

West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh dismissed the Opposition's campaign as opportunistic, arguing it was driven by electoral calculations rather than genuine grievance. 'In the country, elections are coming up in several states, so before that, the INDIA alliance pops up out of nowhere. In Bengal, corporation elections are happening, so they need an issue. But neither in the country nor in Bengal do they have any real issue left. They are just making nonsensical statements to try and get media attention, nothing else,' Ghosh claimed.

Ghosh also defended CEC Gyanesh Kumar, noting that the commissioner occupies a constitutional position and cannot be removed by political pressure. 'Elections will happen, the results will come out, and they will lose, and they will keep shouting. Gyanesh Kumar, who holds a constitutional post, nobody has the courage to remove him. You go to the public, prepare for the elections, otherwise you will get the same result as the previous results,' he said. This is not the first time Ghosh has questioned the INDIA Bloc's internal cohesion — he has previously alleged that the alliance's constituents do not respect each other.

Bihar Minister Accuses Congress of Destabilising the Poll Body

Bihar Minister Dilip Jaiswal went further, accusing the Congress of manufacturing a crisis around the Election Commission. 'Congress has become desperate for power. By spreading misleading propaganda, it wants to destabilise the entire country against the Election Commission,' Jaiswal said.

He also levelled a pointed allegation against the grand old party: 'This madness for power and joining hands even with anti-national forces has now become the character of Congress,' Jaiswal alleged. The remarks represent an escalation in the BJP's counter-offensive as the electoral-roll controversy deepens.

What the Opposition Has Alleged

The INDIA Bloc — comprising the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Left parties, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), among others — has demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and raised serious objections to the SIR process. The Opposition alleges that over 13 crore eligible voters have had their names removed from draft electoral rolls during the revision, effectively disenfranchising them. It has also demanded an effective appeals mechanism for excluded voters and structural changes to the roll-revision process.

Student organisations and civil society groups have joined these demonstrations, lending them broader visibility beyond party lines. The Election Commission and the Centre have rejected the allegations and defended the SIR exercise as a routine administrative process.

Protests in Delhi, Over 1,100 Detained

In New Delhi, members of the Congress, AAP, Left parties, and the RJD attempted to gather at Jantar Mantar to press their demands. Authorities imposed Section 163 in the area, and Delhi Police detained more than 1,100 demonstrators. Among those detained were senior Left leaders M.A. Baby and Brinda Karat, adding significant political weight to the arrests.

Notably, this is one of the largest Opposition detentions in recent memory tied to an electoral-process dispute, underscoring the intensity of the confrontation. The BJP has characterised the protests as an attempt to delegitimise the poll body ahead of elections, while the Opposition insists the issue cuts to the heart of democratic participation.

What Comes Next

The dispute is expected to intensify as election dates in multiple states draw closer. The Opposition has not signalled any withdrawal of its demands, and the scale of the protests — combined with the detention of senior leaders — is likely to sustain media and parliamentary attention. All eyes are now on whether the Election Commission will engage with the Opposition's specific concerns around the appeals mechanism, or whether the standoff hardens into a broader institutional confrontation.