From Gyanesh Kumar to a giant cockroach, Delhi’s Dussehra takes a political turn

From a Ravana bearing the faces of the country’s top political figures to a giant cockroach set to join the traditional demons in the flames, Dussehra in Delhi on Tuesday (October 20, 2026) became another occasion for protesters to take their grievances to the streets.

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As demonstrations demanding the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the resignation of Chief Election CommissionerGyanesh Kumar continue across Delhi, student organisations, activists and political workers invoked the festival’s symbolism of good triumphing over evil to target those they hold responsible for “attack on democratic rights”.

At the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) headquarters on Raisina Road, members of the student organisation and local residents burnt an effigy of multi-headed Ravana bearing the faces of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat, Gyanesh Kumar, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani.

“Against Vote Chors, we will raise our voices,” the organisation said.

A similar protest unfolded near the University of Delhi’s North Campus, where around 50–60 students, members of the Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) and sanitation workers gathered at Sangam Park in Rana Pratap Bagh to burn an effigy depicting Mr. Kumar as Ravana.

Protestors said the move was meant to symbolise the victory of good over evil and oppose “vote chori.” A few activists were detained by the Delhi Police and later let go.

CPI(M) leaders and workers also staged a demonstration near AK Gopalan Bhawan in New Delhi, demanding Mr. Kumar’s resignation. They burnt an effigy bearing “SIR” and “vote chori”.

The protests came after the Indian Youth Congress burnt a Ravana effigy bearing a cut-out of Mr. Kumar’s face at its headquarters in New Delhi on Monday (October 20, 2026).

Meanwhile, in Pitampura, a 30-foot-tall cockroach was burnt alongside the traditional effigies of Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Meghnad. The addition came amid the ongoing protests by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), whose founder, Abhijeet Dipke, has been at the forefront of demonstrations against Mr. Kumar and the SIR exercise.

The Shree Keshav Ram Leela Committee, which organised the event, said the cockroach represented “filth” and “dirt”.

Mr. Dipke responded to a video of the giant effigy on X, thanking the organisers for the “free publicity”.