India bloc marches to Amravati collectorate against SIR and Election Commission, submits memorandum

The India Aghadi held a large march to the district collector's office in Amravati against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The organisers said they were protesting irregularities in the SIR process, the deletion of voters' names and the way the Election Commission works.

The march began at 12.30 pm from Girls High School Chowk. Office-bearers and workers of the various constituents of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, along with ordinary citizens, joined in large numbers. Slogans were raised against the Election Commission and the government during the march.

The agitation was led by leaders including former minister Adv. Yashomati Thakur, MP Balwant Wankhade, Amravati District Congress Committee rural district president Aniruddha alias Bablu Deshmukh, former minister Sunil Deshmukh, former MLA Virendra Jagtap, city Congress president Bablu Shekhawat, Vilas Ingole and Milind Chimote.

When the march reached the gate of the collector's office, police tried to stop the protesters there. The protesters wanted to go inside the premises, and there was a brief argument between them and the police. The protesters then entered the premises. A delegation of the India Aghadi met the district collector in the office auditorium and submitted a memorandum.

The memorandum listed several demands: an independent and impartial inquiry into the entire process of deleting voters' names during the SIR; immediate restoration of the names of eligible voters; a full opportunity for voters to file objections; and transparent disclosure of changes made to the electoral rolls.

It also demanded an impartial inquiry into the allegations raised about the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with action under law if he is found at fault. It further asked for transparency and constitutional autonomy in the Election Commission's decision-making and for the protection of citizens' right to vote.

The memorandum mentions Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, who have raised their voices against alleged irregularities in the electoral process. The India Aghadi also condemned the police action during the agitation and said the right to protest in a democratic manner must be preserved.

The protesters demanded that the government take seriously the alleged irregularities in the SIR process, the rights of voters and issues relating to the Election Commission's functioning. Slogans of "Save democracy, save the Constitution, save the voter's right" were raised during the agitation.

Former minister and Congress leader Yashomati Thakur said, "I have been a state minister and an MLA, yet a fault was found in my children's voter ID cards. So what will happen to ordinary people? That is why the real issue is SIR and vote theft." She alleged that the BJP had built an app, given access to it to tehsildars and others, and that it was being decided which names to delete. According to her, Gyanesh Kumar has spread disorder across the country, and she condemned it. She also said the way Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi was being treated was condemnable.

Thakur wrote on X on October 9, 2026 that Gyanesh Kumar, who she said was behind SIR and "vote theft", should resign, and that it was on this demand that the India Aghadi held the march in Amravati and met the district collector with office-bearers. She wrote that it was her demand that Gyanesh Kumar resign immediately.