02 November,2026 09:27 AM IST | Mumbai | Madhulika Ram Kavattur
Protesters take part in the Tiranga Samvidhan Satyagraha at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in Fort on Sunday. Pics/Ashish Raje
About 100 protesters gathered in front of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters near the Sir Pherozeshah Mehta statue, demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.
The protest, Tiranga Samvidhan Satyagraha, organised by the civil society collective Hum Bharat Ke Log, entailed a walk from the BMC headquarters to the Mahatma Gandhi statue near Mantralaya, a distance of about 2 km.
Protesters gathered at the spot by 4.21 pm on Sunday, but they were stopped from moving towards Mantralaya as the police had barricaded the area around the statue and the selfie point outside the BMC headquarters.
Till about 5.30 pm, the protesters were seen chanting slogans demanding the resignation of the CEC. After the one-hour mark, just as police were asking the protesters to clear the area due to the lack of permission for the same, the latter tried to get out of the barricaded area, but were immediately stopped.
A woman who was at the spot, requesting anonymity, said, "I am here as a protester only to prevent any young kid from getting detained. The mother in me made me come here." After the police stopped the protesters, they were asked to clear out of the area, and by 5.36 pm, people could be seen leaving the spot.
Natasha Pereira, a protester, said, "I always give my moral support to these protests. It's a way to bring people together to keep fighting for justice regarding the deletion of eligible voters in the SIR [Special Intensive Revision of election rolls] and Gyanesh Kumar, who must resign. Our democracy and freedom of expression are in danger. Hence, I'm showing solidarity to save the country, which is heading towards dictatorship."
