U.P. Congress leaders clash with police, detained during protest against Chief Election Commissioner

Uttar PradeshCongress unit on Friday (September 25, 2026) held a demonstration against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, and clashed with the police, demanding accountability from the Commission, adding that fair elections are the foundation of democracy and alleged the people of the country are witnessing the way constitutional norms are being flouted.

The Congress leaders, including State Congress chief Ajay Rai and party workers demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, were stopped and later detained while trying to march towards the Uttar Pradesh Assembly. Mr. Rai alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner had played a role in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s victory in Varanasi and demanded that the election be cancelled.

“Attack on democracy and tampering with the autonomy of constitutional institutions will no longer be tolerated. As part of the nationwide protest of the Indian National Congress, today a fierce demonstration was held on the streets of Lucknow along with the Uttar Pradesh Congress colleagues against the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. Fair elections are the foundation of democracy, but the people of the country are witnessing the way constitutional norms are being flouted. Congress will continue its fight from the streets to Parliament to protect the rights of the people and democracy. We are going to organize district-level protests on Monday. The way heavy police force was deployed on the streets of Lucknow shows that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government is fully protecting the Chief Election Commissioner. Our workers were detained during the protest; it shows the dictatorial mindset of the state administration,” told Mr. Rai, to The Hindu.

Mr. Rai and other Congress leaders climbed the barricades and raised slogans, following which a scuffle broke out between them and the police. The Congress leaders and hundreds of protesting Congress workers were taken to the Eco Garden — a protest site in the State capital, and later released in the evening.