Ramlila Maidan Rally: The Tide is Turning

The rally is a sign that the BJP's dominance is no longer beyond contestation. The question is whether the INDIA bloc can build on this momentum and turn it into a viable political alternative.

The rally is a sign that the BJP's dominance is no longer beyond contestation. The question is whether the INDIA bloc can build on this momentum and turn it into a viable political alternative.

The political ascendancy of the right is facing growing resistance across the world, both on the streets and at the ballot box. The right-wing cycle may be running its course, as developments elsewhere, particularly in the United States, appear to suggest. The midterm elections offer an important indication of the electoral vulnerabilities of right-wing dominance. Whether this signals a similar turning point in India is a more complex question, given the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s organisational reach and the social and political consolidation underpinning its dominance. Yet, the growing mass mobilisation suggests that India's political terrain, too, is becoming increasingly contested.

INDIA – with Congress at its centre – pulls off biggest political meeting in decades

Against this backdrop, the November 1 Chalo Dilli rally at Ramlila Maidan marks a significant escalation in the challenge to the BJP-led National Development Alliance (NDA) government. Over the past few months, disparate streams of protest have increasingly converged around electoral malpractice, manipulation of voter rolls and the erosion of democratic institutions. The Congress-led Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc brought these protests together in one of the largest political mobilisations Delhi has witnessed in decades. Thousands of people marched along Minto Road to Ramlila Maidan, united by the demand to restore public confidence in India's electoral process.

More significant than the size of the crowd, however, is what it reveals about the changing political mood. The conduct of elections and the institutional safeguards underpinning them have become matters of wider public concern, extending well beyond party politics. The rally sent a strong message of disapproval to the ruling party and the Election Commission of India (ECI), whose actions have raised serious questions about its role in safeguarding electoral democracy. It also underscored the Congress's centrality to the campaign and Rahul Gandhi's emergence as its principal political voice. His leadership has given the INDIA bloc greater political visibility and a more clearly defined focus. The two major events over the past three weeks – the October 12 march from Barakhamba Road to the Supreme Court and the rally at Ramlila Maidan – demonstrated the party's renewed organisational capacity and its ability to bring its cadres onto the streets.

Around focal point of SIR, various grievances coalesce

The special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has become the principal bone of contention because of the staggering scale of exclusions. More than 13 crore names were omitted from the draft electoral rolls across the states and Union territories covered by the revision. The difficulties voters have faced in establishing their eligibility, producing documents and securing their place on the rolls have raised serious questions. These are particularly significant given reports that only around 1,600 alleged ‘infiltrators’ (ghuspaithiyas) have been identified as far as six states with an electorate of 9.86 crore voters are concerned, even though detecting such elements was presented as a principal justification for the exercise. The contrast has fuelled perceptions of electoral wrongdoing and intensified anger among voters and party cadres. A right ordinarily taken for granted has become a source of uncertainty and contestation for millions of voters. More significantly, the burden of proof has shifted from the state to the electorate. Questions about the fairness of elections are no longer confined to allegations by political parties but have entered public discourse.

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Although the SIR and electoral fairness provided the unifying political focus, the mobilisation also brought wider grievances into the political arena. The gathering gave voice to issues ranging from agrarian distress, unemployment and access to education to women's safety, inflation and livelihood insecurity. The defence of voting rights and electoral accountability thus provided a common political platform for articulating multiple social and economic discontents. For many of those present, the struggle over the vote was inseparable from broader demands for social justice and the protection of minority rights.

Opposition unity, widening social support

The main takeaway was the unity it brought to the opposition ranks, something that may have surprised the BJP. The active participation of INDIA bloc parties alongside the principal opposition party reflected an unusual cohesion among forces that have often struggled to act collectively. Clearly, unity is possible when there is a compelling common issue and a political force capable of providing direction and coordination.

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The significance of the mobilisation also lay in its social diversity. It was not a sectarian protest, nor was it confined to any particular identity or category of people. Its breadth of support reflected the diversity of India, while its inclusive character spoke to citizens as equals, transcending identity politics and the Hindu-Muslim binary.

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A further significance lay in the participation of political parties alongside movements and organisations that have traditionally operated outside party politics. Recent weeks have witnessed an unprecedented coming together of the youth movement around the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), Left student organisations and civil society groups, and the Congress and INDIA bloc, which have provided a wider political platform and national focus. This convergence has given the campaign a wider social base and political reach than any of these forces could have achieved independently, while recognising that its durability remains an open question.

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To move forward, a shared agenda is a must – and it won't be easy

The future of this conjunction remains uncertain, particularly in the case of the CJP, which supported the protest but was not physically present at the Ramlila Maidan rally. Whether it will work alongside political parties or pursue an independent course remains to be seen. Sustaining the convergence of diverse social and political forces will require a shared agenda and the organisational capacity to carry the mobilisation forward. Ultimately, mobilisation must translate into electoral gains and a shift in the balance of political power.

The challenge of sustaining this mobilisation is compounded by the shrinking space for pursuing these concerns through parliamentary channels. Repeated adjournments, the government's refusal to engage with allegations of vote theft and the rejection of notices seeking the chief election commissioner's removal have left little room for substantive parliamentary debate on the SIR and the ECI. Yet the government insists that parliament is the appropriate forum for raising these issues, even as it resorts to repression against public protests, as it did on October 10 when it prevented the CJP from protesting against the SIR. By accusing protesters of fomenting anarchy while insisting that these matters be raised in parliament, the government effectively denies the legitimacy of street protest as a means of political dissent.

Backlash against the right

These growing protests in India need to be seen in the wider international context. Across several countries, the political dominance of the right is facing growing electoral and popular resistance. Protests have erupted across countries including France, Belgium and Spain, as well as Albania and Italy, around demands for affordable housing, employment opportunities for young people, relief from the rising cost of living and greater investment in education. Alongside these protests, developments at the ballot box also point to challenges to right-wing politics. Brazil's Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated the far-right challenger Flávio Bolsonaro in the presidential runoff, while a student-led movement in Serbia brought down the incumbent government. These developments differ in their political contexts and trajectories, but together they suggest that the right's political ascendancy is neither inevitable nor irreversible.

The Ramlila Maidan rally is significant in this context. It marks an important political moment because discontent with the BJP is beginning to find a wider and more organised political expression. The BJP remains a formidable force, but its dominance is no longer beyond contestation. The question is whether the INDIA bloc can build on this momentum and turn it into a viable political alternative. The tide may be turning; the rally, and importantly the cohesion it demonstrated, has made that possibility more tangible. It could also slow the BJP's efforts to reshape India's electoral architecture through the SIR, delimitation and One Nation, One Election, with the larger objective of entrenching a permanent ethnic majority.

Zoya Hasan is professor emerita, Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University.

This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.

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