Stolen thunder: BJP counters the Opposition’s Ramlila Maidan rally in Delhi by calling Congress anarchist

At about 2PM, a little before Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders were to reach Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, hundreds of people were streaming out of the venue, where a large stage had been set up for the opposition’s ‘Dilli Chalo’ rally, which demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and sought to put the government in the dock. As they departed in groups, some raised desultory slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which failed to generate any response beyond an odd shout. The antipathy towards the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was evident, but most of those walking out perhaps felt they had done their duty by showing up at the rally.

There were knots of people walking towards the venue as well. The two streams crossed one another on the road leading past GB Pant and LNJP hospitals—two of Delhi’s well-known medical facilities—and the incoming groups carried banners declaring party affiliations as well as individual promotions. Several of those walking in carried Samajwadi Party (SP) banners and were part of the entourage that accompanied opposition leaders from Connaught Place. Earlier in the day, the front rows at the rally site were filled with attendees carrying Left flags. In what might have been an unintended irony, posters of Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders like party president Mallikarjun Kharge were framed by banners of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or CPM. There was just a sprinkling of Congress flags, besides some belonging to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). But the colour red dominated, with All India Students’ Association (AISA) flags jostling with SFI banners, even as placards lampooning the CEC and the prime minister were paraded and ‘warm-up’ speakers, such as activist lawyer Prashant Bhushan and transparency campaigner Anjali Bhardwaj, spouted well-rehearsed criticisms of the Election Commission (ECI) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. Accuracy was at a discount, but that did not matter—they were largely speaking to the converted.

The turnout figures were disputed, but given the slushy ground, battered by three days of rain, and the rows of plastic seats planted in the mud, there may not have been many more than 10,000 people at any one time, though many more came and went. The crush was, however, well short of the organisers’ claims, and Rahul’s call for 10 lakh people to show up might have been more an effort to drum up enthusiasm. The march from Connaught Place to Ramlila Maidan was definitely crowded, but the modest width of the roads connecting the venues meant that the streets were easily filled.

Rahul’s speech at the rally, expectedly, called for the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and asserted that the prime minister and Home Minister Amit Shah would follow soon enough. But he did not stop there and went on to denounce all elections, including the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, which delivered unexpected gains for Congress. “Elections have been stolen for years and Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and the 2024 Lok Sabha election are all cases of vote chori,” he said. “After the 2024 election 13.5 crore voters have been removed from the voter list. Fifteen per cent of voters have been removed. The difference between National Democratic Alliance [NDA] and us was 3 per cent in 2024. After that 15 per cent voters were removed. This means the 2024 election was an illegal election,” Rahul said, and declared that the CEC would go to jail.

The gaps in the organisation became evident later, as reports trickled in of Congress state units and youth wings taking disciplinary action against office bearers who failed to turn up at Ramlila Maidan. The Left’s cadre discipline and the support enjoyed by parties like SP among the migrant population in the national capital might have saved the day. Unlike in July, when the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) mobilisation took BJP by surprise, this time the governing party was ready and fielded MPs and senior leaders to counter the opposition show. They challenged claims on turnout, saying that clever drone shots and the enthusiastic accounts of YouTube influencers and ‘channels’ failed to cover up the average attendance at the venue. Home Minister Amit Shah led the BJP response, saying that Rahul Gandhi could become prime minister only in a “mock” parliament, alluding to the “impeachment” staged by I.N.D.I.A. bloc leaders at Kharge’s residence a day before the rally. Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s dream of installing her son as prime minister was doomed to remain unfulfilled, he said. Instead of indulging in charades, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) should debate all issues relating to the SIR in Parliament, Shah said, offering a special sitting.

The Congress messaging on the SIR and the rally focused on the theme of alleged collusion and taint in elections, and avoided issues that might turn the debate towards a more polarising discussion about illegal immigrants and the Left-Islamist ecosystem. Yet there were slip-ups, as when unfiltered comments by activists such as Bhushan and AISA president Neha Bora endorsed “regime change” as the goal behind the protests. Bora’s more direct reference to the Bangladesh “revolution” as an inspiration, and an old video in which she claims that even Brahmin women were unsafe in temples, gave BJP the opportunity to label the I.N.D.I.A. and CJP protests as a political operation to unseat the Modi government. The presence of Bora alongside Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders during the October 12 opposition march to the Supreme Court deepened the impression that the party has embraced the Left’s fringe, anti-Hindu agendas. This in turn served to fire up the Modi-BJP base, as was evident in the social media discussion, where Hindutva handles were no longer on the defensive.

The BJP leadership launched ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’ rallies, zeroing in on the message that Rahul’s attacks on the CEC, his demands for halting the SIR and his claim that elections held since 2024 are illegitimate all add up to calls for anarchy and the overthrow of the established order. Congress was trying to whip up discontent and create a chaotic situation because the party was unable to win elections, BJP said. “We could consider some immediate aims behind Congress’ actions, such as trying to prevent the passage of the delimitation Bill or stall the SIR. But the real objective is to create an anarchic environment, sow dissent and doubt,” said a senior BJP leader, who added that Rahul Gandhi was misusing his perch as LoP. Responding to Shah’s jibe about Rahul and the “mock parliament”, the Congress leader challenged the prime minister to a one-on-one debate. Shah promptly shot back that Parliament is the right forum, adding that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc has not allowed it to function. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a post on X on November 4: “Rahul ji, yesterday you posted a video. You were holding a rose and wishing the Prime Minister a Happy Diwali. Rahul ji, roses are given on Valentine’s Day; they are not given on Diwali... Tell me one thing: are you even aware that you are the Leader of the Opposition? If you are the Leader of the Opposition—and if you truly consider yourself to be one—then where is this debate with the Prime Minister supposed to take place? On the streets? In some alleyway? Or in Parliament?”

Sarma reminded Rahul that his mother Sonia and sister Priyanka are in Parliament too and that he should ensure there is no ruckus in the House. “You should initiate the debate, the Prime Minister will respond, and all these issues can be addressed. Why do you want to drag people out onto the streets? This isn’t Bangladesh; this isn’t Nepal... Rahul ji, do not take the people for fools. I have one request for you: you cannot go on playing the role of an ‘angry young man’ forever. If you truly wish to become a good politician—and I offer this advice free of charge...”

The BJP strategy is apparent: it is countering the Congress claim that the CEC and the ruling party are acting in cahoots to “steal” votes and elections by presenting the LoP as disruptive and lacking any governance agenda. Pointing to Rahul’s aggression against its top brass and his oft-repeated derisive references to India’s top industrialists, BJP leaders underline that his actions hardly square with his claim to represent a “Mohabbat ki Dukaan” (Store of Love), and they point to his cultural disconnect as well. BJP functionaries reckon that they need to blunt the Congress attack and then counter it over the next few weeks, as the entire gamut of allegations relating to the CEC and the SIR plays out in the Supreme Court. ECI’s affidavit and records are to be examined and will be subject to definitive scrutiny, which BJP feels will not support the claims advanced by I.N.D.I.A.s leaders and activists.

BJP has held rallies in New Delhi, Kolkata, Lucknow and smaller towns like Bareilly and Karnal, where Shah led the march along with Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. Encouraged by the response, the party has decided to launch a second round from November 11 to 30. BJP president Nitin Nabin has tasked functionaries to coordinate with state units and governments to put across what the party says is the correct information about the SIR, and to explain why the opposition to it is rooted in the desire of I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties to protect vote banks such as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and the Rohingya from Myanmar. The party intends to intensify its mobilisation, confident that it can rally many more participants than Congress’ public shows. The difference is likely to become apparent because Congress’ organisational health is poor, with almost every state unit hampered by a lack of leadership, divisions and a lackadaisical approach to regular party activity. The challenge is critical as state polls in Uttarakhand, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and Manipur are approaching. Congress is seen as a claimant to office in its own right in Uttarakhand and Punjab, and is keen to position itself as a major factor in UP. It has had governments in Manipur too, but the troubled situation in the state has raised doubts as to whether elections will be feasible. The Congress leadership has defused factional tensions in Punjab by naming former India hockey captain Pargat Singh as the state party chief, but problems persist as the party high command’s role remains crucial. Uttarakhand defied its reputation as a swing state when it re-elected BJP in 2022, but the state Congress lacks a fresh face, with old campaigners like former Chief Minister Harish Rawat suffering from public fatigue. Congress has underperformed as an ally in the Hindi heartland, and SP leaders are concerned that conceding the party’s demand for more than 100 seats—media reports put the claim as high as 175—could seriously impair the I.N.D.I.A. bloc campaign. It is, however, likely that SP will have to concede a significant number in order to ensure ‘secular’ unity, as mobilising Muslim votes is crucial.

While Shah and other BJP leaders have taken on Congress, Modi has framed his message as one of constructive ideas versus negativity and, in a speech in Banaskantha on October 30, said he would serve the people of India till his last breath. The assertion was a riposte to Kharge’s angry response at a Congress function in Patna, where he had said that “not only Modi but Modi’s ‘baap’ will go”. BJP protested the remark and responded with a “Modi is going nowhere” slogan, and the prime minister gave the argument his imprimatur in Gujarat. Modi has since spoken on subjects ranging from the progress of Metro rail construction to planned investments in critical minerals, presenting the achievements as a contrast to Congress’ record in office and its “obstructionist” actions as the opposition. In the past, Modi has labelled political activism against BJP as being driven by “andolanjeevis (perpetual agitators)” and “dimagi Naxals” (Naxal mindsets), and this remains the overarching framework of his response to Congress and its allies. The CJP agitation in July had drawn a different response, as Modi recognised the anger and dissatisfaction among the youth over leaks of competitive examination question papers. But now, with CJP also jumping on the anti-SIR bandwagon, the distinction is blurring. BJP is now placing CJP and Congress in the same frame, though taking on the I.N.D.I.A. bloc is more familiar territory for the party in power.