Another challenge for the government: how to stop the largely “leaderless” crowd from regrouping after the October 10 CEC protest

The official said one of the immediate challenges for the authorities was the crowd, which did not wait for a leader or personality to lead them. | Photo credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Although the Union government managed to prevent protesters seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from converging on Jantar Mantar on Saturday (October 10, 2026) through a heavy deployment of security forces, its next task seemed to be to stop the largely “leaderless” crowd from regrouping in the coming days.

Following a hearing in the Supreme Court on Friday (Oct 9, 2026) on restrictions in Delhi, the government was considering offering Ramlila Maidan as an alternative protest venue to organizers of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), officials claimed. However, they said that neither the CJP nor the Left youth groups participating in the agitation had asked for it.

Pellets that injured at least four people on July 20 during a protest demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, resulting in one of them losing sight in an eye, were withdrawn from the Rapid Deployment Force’s (RAF) riot gear for Saturday’s protest. However, some Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were seen carrying a submachine gun.

A security dilemma

Government officials told The Hindu that mobilizing security on the scale seen on Saturday (October 10) would not be feasible in the coming days and that it would not be legal to detain protesters for more than 24 hours.

The Connaught Place block, one of the busiest commercial establishments in the country, which was closed on Saturday (October 10) at the request of the police, cannot be blocked indefinitely, officials said. Every radial leading to Jantar Mantar was blocked with barricades and 20-30 armed police and security personnel were deployed at each location.

“Such resources may not be available indefinitely. It is impossible to keep the entire area blocked for several consecutive days,” one of the officials said.

Officials said the visible presence of security forces may continue in the area in the coming days, but the matter required a political solution and could not be considered a mere “law and order” situation.

“Learning from the protest called by the CJP on July 20, several precautions were taken this time. Although a section of the crowd was apolitical, there was a significant presence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) cadres and Left groups and it was anticipated that violence might break out,” another government official said.

A big challenge

The official said one of the immediate challenges for the authorities was the crowd, which did not wait for a leader or personality to lead them. The detention of CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das by the police as soon as their Air India flight landed at the Delhi airport on Saturday morning did not have much impact on the ground.

Khushboo, a law student from West Delhi’s Pitampura, who walked for kilometers on Saturday, hopping between the metro, autorickshaw and bus to reach Connaught Place, said, “It is not necessary for us to have leaders. We know what we are here for. Even the British are putting people in jail. If you (the government) are worried about our safety, then you should try to provide us with the police.”

On 9 October, the Union Home Ministry directed all states and union territories to coordinate with the Delhi Police and take precautionary measures to stop the movement of protesters towards Delhi. In a statement, Union Home Minister Govind Mohan highlighted what he called “serious law and order and public order implications” arising from the protest.

Published – 10 Oct 2026 21:32 IST