Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Kohima: Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee members hit the streets in Dimapur on October 3. They marched from Congress Bhavan to the Town Hall to demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The protesters burnt an effigy of Kumar to signal their anger. They say the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls violates basic constitutional rights.
Apok Jamir, the NPCC working president, claims the exercise purged over 13 crore names from the rolls. He argues that this mass removal strikes at the heart of the democratic process. Ordinary people lose their voice when they disappear from these lists. Jamir made his stance clear during the event. "If his conscience permits and he agrees that he has committed a crime against the people, then he should resign immediately," Jamir said.
The Congress party maintains that this is part of a broader campaign against the Election Commission. They want accountability for the lost voters. Beyond the roll revision, Jamir took a shot at local politics. He accused elected legislators and councillors of switching parties due to coercion, pressure, or cash inducements. He calls this political poaching. The party expects voters to hold these representatives responsible at the ballot box.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 1:48am
The protest in Dimapur was part of the wider Protest March to Save Democracy, a series of agitations launched by the opposition INDIA bloc on October 2 against the Election Commission and alleged voter roll manipulation in favor of the ruling BJP. Jamir labeled the Special Intensive Revision process as the biggest extortion and theft in the history of the country.
Addressing the state political situation, Jamir specifically pointed to the mass defection of five National People's Party legislators who joined the Neiphiu Rio-led NPF. He dismissed the move as outright poaching fueled by enticements. Regarding recent pushback from BJP Nagaland President Benjamin Yepthomi, who dismissed the Congress claims as unfounded, Jamir insisted that the All India Congress Committee holds hard facts and figures to back their accusations of vote theft, promising to produce evidence when the time is right.
Updated at 4th October 2026 at 9:48am
Protesters at the Dimapur rally carried placards with slogans like No one is above the Constitution, Every vote counts, every voice matters, and Free and Fair Elections are our right. The demonstrators also pushed for an independent inquiry into the alleged irregularities.
Addressing the challenge from BJP state president Benjamin Yepthomi, Jamir stated the party's claims are backed by solid data held by the All India Congress Committee. He promised to release these facts and figures whenever the time is right, asserting that the party's allegations are not just political slogans.
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