The INDIA bloc organised a massive protest demonstration at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on Thursday, 5 November, demanding the immediate scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the protection of democratic voting rights. Held under the banner of “Save the Vote, Save the Country”, the protest marked a further intensification of the nationwide movement against SIR and the attacks on the independence of the Election Commission of India.
The demonstration brought together leaders and activists of the Congress, CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(M), CPI, Forward Bloc, Samajwadi Party and other democratic organisations. Among those who participated were CPI(ML) leader Clifton D'Rozario, CPI(M) Karnataka State Secretary K. Prakash, CPI leader Saathi Sundaresh, Congress leader B. K. Hariprasad and representatives of other INDIA bloc parties.
Addressing the gathering, INDIA bloc leaders condemned the BJP-led Union government's attempts to undermine democratic institutions and warned that the SIR exercise threatened to disenfranchise large sections of eligible voters. They emphasised that the right to vote, guaranteed through universal adult franchise under Article 326 of the Constitution, cannot be subjected to arbitrary exclusion through electoral roll revisions.
The protesters raised five principal demands. They called for the immediate cancellation of the illegal and anti-democratic SIR exercise and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. They also demanded the repeal of the law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, with an independent appointment process in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions.
The INDIA bloc further demanded that the Karnataka government reject the final electoral rolls prepared through SIR and take measures to ensure that forthcoming local body elections, including Taluk and Zilla Panchayat elections, are conducted on the basis of the pre-SIR electoral rolls of 2025. Taluk and Zilla Panchayats are elected local government bodies at the sub-district and district levels in Karnataka.
The leaders warned that the deletion of eligible voters from electoral rolls, particularly among working people and marginalised communities, posed a direct challenge to democratic participation and political equality. They stressed that the Election Commission must function as an independent constitutional institution rather than facilitate the ruling party's political interests.
The demonstration also called for expanding the movement against SIR across Karnataka, with further mobilisations at district and taluk levels to defend voting rights and democratic accountability.
The protest followed the massive INDIA bloc mobilisation at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on 1 November, where opposition parties and democratic organisations raised the demand to scrap SIR and remove Gyanesh Kumar from the office of Chief Election Commissioner.
