Protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an opposition march towards the Supreme Court snarled traffic across central Delhi. The diversions and barricades left commuters stranded for hours and widened disruption beyond the protest route.
Newdelhi,Oct 12, 2026 20:30 IST
Central Delhi saw bumper-to-bumper traffic on Monday, with commuters reporting delays of several hours as protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified and opposition parties held a march towards the Supreme Court. Visuals from the area showed long queues of cars, buses and two-wheelers moving slowly as barricades and police deployment affected traffic movement.
The congestion came amid demonstrations over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Delhi Traffic Police had warned earlier of possible restrictions and diversions at several major junctions and road stretches, and later advised commuters to use alternative routes and allow extra time for their journeys.
Visuals showed vehicles lined up near Mandi House, Tilak Marg, Copernicus Marg and the India Gate C-Hexagon, with traffic moving at a crawl. Congestion was reported from Mandi House, Barakhamba Road, Mathura Road, Ferozeshah Road, K G Marg, Ashoka Road, Bhagwan Das Road, Tilak Marg, Copernicus Marg, India Gate C-Hexagon, Rani Jhansi Road, Desh Bandhu Gupta Road, Connaught Place's inner circle, Minto Road, Asaf Ali Road, Akbar Road, ITO and Indraprastha Marg.
Several commuters took to social media to complain about the delays and the impact of diversions. One user posted, "Delhi Traffic Police has downright failed. It is shameful for both police and political parties. People are suffering for hours in traffic for no reason." Another said, "I have been stuck in traffic for two-and-a-half hours. What is going on in the city?" Other commuters said the congestion had disrupted their daily schedules, while some said rerouting had added to traffic on adjoining stretches beyond central Delhi.
The traffic police advised commuters to use Kasturba Gandhi Marg and Mathura Road as alternative routes to avoid Copernicus Marg and Tilak Marg respectively. In its earlier advisory, it had listed Panchkuian and Mandi House roundabouts, Dr Dinesh Nandini Dalmia Chowk (W-Point), Ram Charan Aggarwal Chowk (A-Point), Minto Road, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg, Guru Nanak Chowk and the Connaught Place outer circle-Barakhamba Road T-point as places where diversions could be enforced. Other identified stretches included Chelmsford Road near Connaught Place outer circle, Bharion Road-MGM Ring Road T-point, Lodhi Road flyover, Neela Gumbad roundabout, Sardar Patel Marg-Panchsheel Marg crossing, Bhikaji Cama Place and areas under the Moti Bagh flyover.
The advisory also mentioned possible restrictions at the Ring Road-San Martin Marg T-point, Ashoka Road-Jantar Mantar roundabout, Jai Singh Road-Sansad Marg crossing, Jai Singh Road-Ashoka Road T-point and at Patel Chowk, Rail Bhawan and RML Hospital roundabouts. Police asked motorists to avoid non-essential travel through affected areas, follow diversion signs and the instructions of traffic personnel, and keep extra time in hand, especially if travelling to railway stations, interstate bus terminals and the airport through New Delhi and central Delhi. It said diversions would depend on the law-and-order situation and real-time ground conditions, and urged commuters to follow its social media channels for updates.
Opposition parties had announced the march to the Supreme Court to demand Kumar's resignation over the alleged irregularities. Over the weekend, thousands of people, including leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party and former chief ministers, were detained by police, and protests continued on Monday with security personnel deployed at several locations to stop protesters from moving beyond barricades. Overall, the demonstrations and the resulting diversions left large parts of central Delhi struggling with severe traffic through the day.
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