Delhi Cong chief, 55 workers held in ‘vote theft’ protest

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav and several party workers were detained by police in southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh area on Tuesday while protesting against what they termed “vote theft.” The demonstration formed part of a statewide signature campaign launched by the party to highlight alleged irregularities in voter rolls.

According to police, 56 protesters, including Yadav, were detained after attempting to march towards Jawahar Chowk without prior permission. “They were protesting and moving towards Jawahar Chowk. We have detained them as they had no permission for the protest. They were taken to Najafgarh Police Station,” a senior police officer said.

Those held included district presidents Sukhbir Sharma and Sidharth Rao; observers Sushma Yadav, Kamalkant Sharma, Rajesh Yadav, Shanti Swaroop, Om Dutt Yadav, and Pramod Jayant; alongside several block, mandalam, and sector-level Congress office bearers.

Yadav condemned the detentions, calling them an attempt to stifle peaceful dissent. “Congress workers have been holding signature campaigns across Delhi in a peaceful manner against the BJP’s concerted moves to grab power through vote thefts and subvert democracy. We are not going to be cowed down. The BJP is rattled by the public support for our campaign,” he said.

The Congress leader accused the BJP of misusing government machinery to suppress opposition voices. “Misuse of agencies like the police, CBI, and ED is not new. The BJP government is shaken by Rahul Gandhi’s expose of their conspiracy to steal votes in two Assembly segments,” Yadav alleged.

He asserted that “vote theft” is a direct attack on democracy and the Constitution. “Let the dictator know this clearly, we are Congress warriors who have sacrificed for the freedom of this country. The autocratic and arrogant BJP government cannot suppress our voice against the theft of the constitutional right to vote,” he said.

Signature campaigns were simultaneously held across multiple districts, including Patparganj, Badarpur, and Chandni Chowk. In Patparganj, the campaign was led by district president Dinesh Kumar; in Badarpur by Harsh Chaudhary; and in Chandni Chowk by Mirza Javed Ali. Prominent Congress leaders such as former MLA Asif Mohammad Khan, Municipal Councillor Ariba Khan, and several district observers and office bearers also participated.

The campaign follows Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s explosive allegations on August 7, claiming large-scale voter roll fraud through collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission. Gandhi cited an analysis of voter rolls in a Karnataka constituency as evidence. In response, chief electoral officers of Karnataka and Maharashtra had asked him to submit specific names of electors he claimed were wrongly listed, along with a signed declaration for further proceedings.

Delhi