Jharkhand: Congress, youth wing activists scuffle with police during protest outside CEO office

Activists of the Jharkhand Congress and its youth wing on Tuesday (October 6, 2026) scuffled with the police as they tried to break through barricades during a demonstration outside the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office in Ranchi, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

After they failed to enter the premises, the agitators blackened the official name board of the Election Commission.

Also read: CEC row LIVE updates

Hundreds of workers of the Congress and its youth wing marched from near the Old Assembly premises, and the march culminated at the office of the CEO in Dhurwa. Workers carrying placards raised slogans such as "Where will you find the vote thief? In the BJP office," "Gyanesh Kumar Resign" and "Vote thief, vacate your seat of power."

"People of the country have prepared a chargesheet against the CEC. Allegations against the CEC are enough for a person holding a constitutional post to resign," Subodh Kant Sahay, a former Union Minister, said.

"People across the country are looking for Gyanesh Kumar, asking where the traitor has fled. This is happening because he worked to snatch the voting rights of citizens of this country. The CEC has murdered democracy through the SIR," Kumar Gaurav, State president of the Youth Congress, said. He said the protest sought to give voice to ordinary individuals who were making rounds of offices with their certificates to get their names enrolled in the voter list.

"Democracy is being murdered... Two other members of the Election Commission had raised questions on Gyanesh Kumar's style of working, but now irregularities committed by him have come out," Kumar Raja, president of the Congress's Ranchi Mahanagar unit, said. The entire electoral system could not be transparent until the CEC resigned, he said, adding that the party would continue its struggle.

The protests came after a report by The Indian Express claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge, even as the nationwide rollout of the SIR was under the supervision of the full Commission.