CEC row LIVE updates: INDIA bloc leaders likely to march towards Rashtrapati Bhavan today

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, along with INDIA bloc MPs at Rajghat as the Opposition steps protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, on October 8, 2026. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap The INDIA bloc will continue its protest on Friday (October 9, 2026) and is likely to march towards Rashtrapati Bhavan after assembling at Parliament House in the morning. Senior leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, may join the march, even though President Droupadi Murmu has not yet given an appointment. Following two days of face-offs with the Delhi Police, the Opposition leaders were allowed to hold a peaceful protest at Rajghat on Thursday (October 8, 2026) without being prevented from reaching there.Also read | Opposition leaders ‘pray’ at Rajghat for government to ‘get wisdom’ to remove CECAhead of the October 10 protest in Delhi, several groups, including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), on Thursday (October 8, 2026) alleged that protesters were being picked up from across the country. CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said Deepak Baliyan, the organisation’s co-in-charge, had been detained in Rajasthan. He claimed that thousands of volunteers had been detained in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. The Students’ Federation of India (SFI) also alleged that police personnel had been visiting activists’ homes and intimidating their families to prevent them from travelling to Delhi.Analysis | The Rahul Gandhi show and the Congress’s INDIA bloc dilemma In Delhi, the police has been holding meetings in colleges, universities, and PG accommodations to ask students and citizens not to join the protest. Officials said that joining the unsanctioned protest would disrupt law and order in the New Delhi area. Police officials visited local mosques and market places in Old Delhi and announced that Section 163 of BNSS is in place in the New Delhi area, requesting citizens to not participate in the protest.Follow LIVE updates here:October 09, 2026 08:21 Liquor shops in Delhi to remain closed for two days from October 9 to maintain public orderThe Delhi government on Thursday (October 8, 2026) directed the closure of liquor stores in the city on October 9 and 10 due to the “prevailing” situation to maintain public order.An order issued by the Excise Department said that the closure of liquor vends was based on Delhi Police inputs as a preventive measure aimed at maintaining “public order”.The order has come ahead of ongoing protests by opposition parties demanding resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged “vote theft”. A call for protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10 has also been given by the Cockroach Janta Party.- PTIOctober 09, 2026 08:16 Citizens divided between October 10 protest calls, police warningsWith the police calling up volunteers, holding meetings with residents and using loudspeakers to announce that prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) are in place near Jantar Mantar and youth organisations going door-to-door to mobilise those affected by the special intensive revision (SIR) process, people are in a dilemma over whether to join the protest on October 10 seeking removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and suspension of the SIR drive. Citizens divided between October 10 protest calls, police warningsCitizens weigh joining Oct. 10 protest as police curb gatherings and youth groups mobilise marginalised voters over the SIR drive. Published - October 09, 2026 08:11 am IST