NEW DELHI: Thousands of colourful flags, big and small, fluttered across the sprawling Ramlila Maidan as chants of "vote bachao, desh bachao (save elections, save India)" rended the air, with people from every corner of the country converging in the capital for INDIA bloc's rally against alleged "vote chori".
From farmers, labourers and domestic helps to students, transgender activists and political party workers, the gathering brought together people with concerns extending well beyond alleged electoral irregularities. Unemployment, inflation, women's safety, the Manipur crisis, access to education, and the rights of marginalised communities all found a place in the conversations unfolding at the venue.
For Karuna Kurrey, a member of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress, the concerns over electoral democracy are inseparable from the everyday struggles of citizens, as those elected to power ultimately determine the policies governing their lives.
"If the names of crores of eligible voters have been deleted from electoral rolls, does that mean all these people are illegal immigrants? Are they not citizens of India whose right to vote must be protected?" she said.
She said concerns regarding unemployment, crimes against women and children, and the justice system also demand political accountability. "Today, when children are raped, women are unsafe, and youths are denied jobs, taking away people's votes renders them incapable of holding those in power accountable."
The difficulties faced by people trying to establish their eligibility to vote echoed among those from economically vulnerable backgrounds.
Guddi Tirki, a domestic help originally from Jharkhand's Gumla, who lives in a slum cluster in southeast Delhi's Jasola, said a booth-level officer (BLO) had visited her residence and asked her to furnish proof linking her to her native village. Some discrepancies in her documents had complicated the process.
"We have not come from another country," she said, questioning why people like her have to struggle to establish their eligibility.
She said the process is particularly difficult for people from disadvantaged backgrounds who often lack the education and language skills to navigate official procedures. "We are not educated; we do not understand English. We work as househelps. Who listens to us?"
For Hasmat, 68, a supporter of the Jai Kisan Andolan from Uttar Pradesh's Amethi, the journey to Delhi was worth the expense. She said she had paid for the train journey out of her own pocket just to raise farmers' concerns at the protest.
"Farmers work very hard to feed the country; however, their own struggles -- for fair prices for their produce, rising input costs, and just making ends meet -- go unheeded," she said.
The demand for accountability was loud and clear in the slogans raised by student organisations.
Members of the Uttar Pradesh unit of National Students' Union of India (NSUI), who had travelled from Shahjahanpur, had just one message -- "Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod (Vote chor, vacate your seat)" they shouted in unison, demanding resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.
Rajesh Chaudhary, a Congress leader from Haryana, invoked the fundamental democratic principle that the Constitution belongs to the people and derives its authority from them. She said the prevailing situation has raised questions about whether citizens are being adequately represented and if those in power are answerable at all.
Unemployment, inflation, crimes against women and children and shortcomings in education, she said, demand accountability from the government. A democracy cannot function meaningfully if citizens are denied voting rights and the opposition is ignored.
Bobo, who travelled from Kakching district in Manipur, said the call to scrap the SIR exercise is inseparable from the larger fight to hold the government accountable.
He asserted that the Centre cannot be allowed to evade questions on alleged electoral irregularities, like it had ignored concerns and desperate pleas for help in the wake of violent ethnic clashes in Manipur, which drag on to this day, with little sign of a resolution even after more than three years.
The rally also provided a platform for members of marginalised communities to raise concerns over their political representation.
Simran Sharma, 29, a transgender activist and content creator living in Noida, said the exclusion of transgender people from electoral rolls has worsened the difficulties faced by a community already struggling for social acceptance and economic security.
Born in Delhi, Sharma said she had separated from her family 12 years ago. Even her mentor, who resides in Delhi, has found her name missing from the draft electoral roll, she said.
The number of registered third-gender voters in Delhi fell to 447 in the draft roll prepared during the ongoing SIR, from 1,261 during the 2025 assembly elections.
Students brought their concerns about electoral representation and employment opportunities to the rally.
Rubi, a 22-year-old student from Jamia Millia Islamia and associated with the Muslim Students' Federation (MSF), said she and her friends had been protesting against alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise for weeks. She said she had been detained earlier at Connaught Place during a march organised by the CJP.
Students from Kerala, including members of the MSF and other organisations, joined the demonstration, some wearing Batman masks. Linking the concerns over electoral rights to the larger anxieties of young people, Rubi said access to education must translate into meaningful opportunities, including employment, rather than remain limited to enrolment figures.
"Providing education is not enough; the quality of education matters too. Young people need opportunities to build a future for themselves," she asserted.
The demand for a change in polling mechanisms was raised by a group of protesters from Tamil Nadu.
Several members of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), waving large blue and red flags bearing a white star, said they had travelled to Delhi to join the INDIA bloc's demonstration. The group, which included several advocates from Chennai, demanded a return to ballot paper-based voting and opposed the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
The main road leading to Ramlila Maidan was lined with air-conditioned Volvo buses that had brought supporters from different states, while hundreds of posters and banners bearing party insignias were strewn along the roads around the ground.
Smaller processions converged from different directions, with political workers raising slogans as they waved respective organisational flags. Student groups swung to the beats of the 'dafli' (tambourine) and marched with posters reading, "Reject anti-poor, anti-women, anti-minority, anti-people SIR".
Workers of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) brought a distinct regional flavour to the gathering, with supporters playing the 'dhol' and women dressed in traditional red-and-white sarees joining the procession. Some carried young children on their backs as they made their way towards the venue.
Inside Ramlila Maidan, the rows of chairs arranged to accommodate the crowds fell short as more and more people continued to arrive, leaving the entrances congested. A large screen relayed speeches from the stage to those seated farther away, while hawkers selling snacks moved through the gathering.
By afternoon, the demonstration had become a gathering of competing demands, with the call to protect electoral rights providing a common thread. For some, it was about the deletion of a family member's name from the voter list; for others, it was about livelihoods, social justice, safety or the unresolved crisis in Manipur.
The flags and slogans may have carried the colours of different political parties, but the concerns voiced by many were rooted in their everyday lives.
