Indian opposition parties stage new protest against the elections chief

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.

Led by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement, the protesters called for the safeguarding of India’s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision.

The protesters gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a sprawling public square in New Delhi, after police last month withdrew Jantar Mantar from the list of officially designated venues for demonstrations. The historic observatory had long served as the capital’s main protest site.

Authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route, officials said.

The ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year. Critics say the exercise is politically motivated, threatens to disenfranchise millions more, and has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims.

The Election Commission and Modi’s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.

Human Rights Watch on Thursday said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise “serious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections.”

“The authorities should immediately scrap the voter roll revision process that has denied India’s most marginalized people their right to vote and other government services,” said Elaine Pearson, the group’s Asia director, in a statement.

The call for Kumar’s resignation has for weeks been a rallying cry for opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party seeking to challenge Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Modi has not publicly commented on the protests. Some of his party leaders have dismissed the demonstrators as “anarchists” and suggested, without offering evidence, that they are backed by foreign powers.

In July, protests led by the youth “cockroach” movement forced the resignation of Modi’s education minister, a rare setback for Modi, who has been in power for more than 12 years. The movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites.

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Security personnel keep watch as a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Protesters in traditional costumes wait to start a march called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

HAMILTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won his first toss of the series Sunday and decided to bowl in the fifth and final Twenty20 cricket international against India.

India's Shreyas Iyer won the toss in each of the first four matches and his team clinched the series by winning the first three matches by four wickets, four wickets and six wickets.

New Zealand won the fourth match in Auckland on Friday by 87 runs, led by a century from Glenn Phillips.

India made two changes to its lineup from that match, recalling pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar and handing wrist spinner Varun Chakravharti his first appearance of the series.

New Zealand recalled pacer Blair Tickner in place of Matt Fisher.

Lineups:

New Zealand: Finn Allen, Tim Seifert, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs, Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (captain), Nathan Smith, Adam Milne, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner.

India: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.

See AP’s full cricket coverage here

India's Prince Yadav, centre, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of New Zealand's Bevon Jacobs during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)

New Zealand's Glenn Phillips celebrates his century during the T20 cricket international between New Zealand and India in Auckland, New Zealand, Friday, Oct. 30, 2026. (Andrew Cornaga/Photosport via AP)