Open-top overlanders: Show of Opposition unity at their largest mobilisation in recent years

On October 12, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi led thousands of marchers from atop a modified truck as they flooded central Delhi for hours to protest alleged irregularities in the Election Commission of India (ECI)’s functioning and the electoral roll special intensive revision (SIR).

Two air-conditioned buses were kept as backup. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders on their way to Ramlila Maidan. (PTI)Around three weeks later, Congress-led Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) leaders opted for open-top overlanders from Rajasthan, used in jungle safaris, as they renewed demands for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s removal.

The overlanders were more than a mode of transport. People aware of the matter said they symbolised Opposition unity. The overlanders brought together leaders from the INDIA bloc for the march and a rally at Ramlila Maidan, one of the three newly designated protest sites in the Capital, against alleged electoral irregularities.

One of the overlanders joined the march at Minto Road, around 1.3 kilometers from Ramlila Maidan. The other two started from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence, where several top leaders had assembled. The Opposition march and rally were the largest show of INDIA bloc strength.

The bloc has been pushing for Kumar’s removal, demanding accountability for the removal of 130 million names from electoral rolls, many of them under absent, shifted, or dead categories, as part of SIR. Among those who joined the procession were Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress leaders Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader M A Baby, Communist Party of India general secretary D Raja, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and Peoples Democratic Party’s Mehbooba Mufti.

INDIA bloc leaders came together for the largest Opposition mobilisation in recent years and said Kumar will be jailed for treason in the future. The march snaked through central Delhi for over an hour before a rally. Rahul Gandhi attacked the government, saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah will not be allowed to escape the law.

He called Kumar’s removal the first step to bring the country back on track. The march began from the edge of Connaught Place to Ramlila Maidan for the rally, where nine leaders spoke The protests were sparked after an Indian Express investigation found Election Commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded written dissents and objections at least 14 times between November 2025 and August 2026 and even wrote to the cabinet secretary.

Election officials allegedly found their access to the ECI software curtailed by the central IT team. ECI said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation and that all its digital platforms operated under strict data security protocols.

Over the past month, thousands of people have hit the streets, despite Metro closures, internet shutdown and prohibitory orders. In October, around 40,000 security personnel turned the Capital into a virtual fortress and sparked controversy by dragging, manhandling, and detaining many agitators.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has called the calls for Kumar’s removal and SIR scrapping part of attempts to destabilise constitutional bodies to deflect attention from failures of the Opposition parties.