Traffic police prepare for large gathering

Ahead of Sunday's march and rally led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, authorities warned of traffic diversions on the routes involved. Delhi traffic police said a "large gathering" was expected at the venue and that traffic regulations and diversions would be put in place "as required".

Senior police officer Rohit Rajbir told news agency ANI that participants were already on their way.

Security presence at the rally venue

Indian security personnel carrying batons and shields, together with riot control vehicles, surrounded the protest site on Sunday. Footage from ANI showed the deployment outside the venue in detail:

• •dozens of security personnel armed with batons and shields
• •riot control vehicles positioned outside the rally venue
• •announcements urging people to cooperate with the police

What the protest is about

The demonstration demands the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a controversial voter list revision. Opposition parties have announced a nearly 1.5km march on Sunday from central Delhi to Ramlila Maidan, where the rally will be held.

The protests have built over recent weeks:

• •opposition parties, student organisations and the youth-led Cockroach Janta party have held near-daily demonstrations since last month, calling for Kumar to step down
• •the opposition says it expects hundreds of thousands of participants in what it calls a major challenge to prime minister Narendra Modi and the BJP
• •the protests erupted after the Indian Express reported in September that Kumar's two deputies had raised internal concerns about voter list revisions, registration procedures and digital systems
• •the revision, begun last year, removed over 130 million names, including 28 million who died, 63 million who relocated and 30 million who could not be traced

Opposition parties allege the deletions fall disproportionately on Muslim voters and other minorities, a claim both the poll panel and the BJP reject.

The responses and the stakes

The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said voters wrongly deleted from the rolls can re-enrol. The BJP, for its part, has accused its rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.

Analysts say the youth protests and the growth in opposition support amount to the worst crisis for Modi since he came to power in 2014. They also note the government remains stable and that the next general election is not due until 2029.

The announced march will cover nearly 1.5km from central Delhi to Ramlila Maidan, with traffic diversions to be implemented as required on the day.