Tens of thousands of Indians from across the country have gathered in New Delhi to protest what they see as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s sustained attacks on Indian democracy and its constitutional institutions. Answering opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s call, young and old, people from the political left and the right, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians, and members of different castes have come together, united by the conviction that India’s democracy is in danger and must be defended.

We are witnessing a striking paradox: a vibrant democracy in action, with citizens marching in the streets to protect democratic institutions they believe are being undermined. Their mobilization demonstrates both the depth of the crisis and the resilience of India’s democratic spirit. The question is whether this energy on the streets can translate into lasting protection for the constitution and the institutions that give democracy meaning.

India’s season of protests appears to be gaining momentum. Despite police crackdowns, criminal cases, legal intimidation, threats to future government employment, and attempts to brand protesters as “anti-national” or enemies of the state, India’s youth continue to gather, again and again. The success that the Cockroach Janata Party experienced early in the summer in demanding the resignation of India’s education minister for mismanagement of national entrance exams has acted as an injection among the youth, who increasingly see their future, their country, and their country’s democracy at risk in the hands of the current government. They are protesting threats to democracy, government decisions they consider unjust, and what they see as entrenched political corruption. The persistence of these demonstrations suggests that intimidation has failed to extinguish public anger.

The current wave of protests has been fueled by revelations about the functioning of the Election Commission under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. An investigation by The Indian Express documented repeated objections from the other two election commissioners to decisions and administrative actions taken without their knowledge or against their recorded advice. The revelations raised serious questions about the legality and constitutional validity of those actions, along with the procedures through which they were implemented. The investigation exposed an apparently unilateral pattern of decision-making under Kumar, which critics argue was intended to ensure that the revised electoral rolls heavily favored the ruling party, the BJP.

According to The Indian Express, more than 130 million names had been removed from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and union territories. Some will be reinstated, but the process of securing reinstatement can itself be complicated, painful, time-consuming, and burdensome, especially for poor voters and daily wage earners who can ill afford repeated visits to government offices or the loss of income that pursuing an appeal may entail.

West Bengal provides a particularly troubling example. According to figures the Election Commission submitted to the Supreme Court, approximately 2.72 million voters were deleted following the adjudication of disputed entries. Of these, 2.21 million appealed for reinstatement, but only 1,607 voters were restored through the tribunals before polling. The BJP subsequently won 207 of West Bengal’s 294 Assembly seats. The SIR helped shape this outcome, and a statistical analysis found that constituencies with greater electoral-roll shrinkage tended to show larger shifts toward the BJP.

A coalition of opposition parties and student activists, including Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, and Neha Bora, president of the All India Students’ Association, is demanding that Kumar resign immediately and take responsibility. They are also demanding a halt to the SIR exercise, which they regard as compromised and partisan. Any fresh revision must be transparent and follow the established legal procedures and rules of the Election Commission. In my view, elections conducted using disputed rolls should also be independently examined, with fresh elections considered wherever serious electoral wrongdoing is established. No one should be allowed to steal votes and enjoy the fruits of an illegitimate victory. So far, the government has resisted, and the battle continues both on the streets and in the courts.

But there is a side story that might be more important than the main plot. Like any Bollywood film, this story too has a hero and a heroine. In Neha Bora, we are witnessing the emergence of a remarkable national leader. Her courage on the streets in the face of police brutality, unwavering commitment to defending India’s Constitution and democracy, and willingness to work with other parties and groups are inspiring. Listening to Bora, and watching her and her supporters stand their ground during police crackdowns give me hope. If I were asked to give one reason why I have faith in the future of Indian democracy, my answer would be Neha Bora.

The hero of this story is clearly Rahul Gandhi. Over the past few years, we have seen him emerge as a national leader who, in my view, stands far above much of India’s political establishment. His Bharat Jodo Yatra, from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, demonstrated his ability to connect with India’s diverse population and reach across generations. For many Indians, that 4,000-kilometer march transformed his political standing.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections offered evidence of his rising stature. The BJP hoped to win 400 or more of the 543-seat House;  it won only 240, 63 less than the previous election. Congress, meanwhile, nearly doubled its tally, rising from 52 seats in 2019 to 99 in 2024. The rising appeal of Rahul Gandhi was principally responsible for this huge swing.

Clearly, it is this rise of Rahul Gandhi, politically and electorally, that has frightened the BJP into fearing for its grip on power. I see the controversy over the SIRs against that background: a ruling party increasingly anxious about whether it can retain power through fair competition. The relentless diatribes and polemics directed at Gandhi by the ruling party and its media allies suggest to me that the Hindu nationalist establishment is deeply unsettled by his growing stature. The nationwide SIR initiated by the Election Commission of India, which all parties except the BJP find problematic — which in itself is a tell — is clearly an attempt by the BJP to mitigate growing anti-incumbency among the population by essentially conducting election fraud through the mechanism of voter deletion.

As we watch the protests move from Jantar Mantar to Ramlila Maidan, I see signs of a government facing growing resistance on India’s streets. The political challenge now is to turn that resistance into electoral change. My hope is that the courage visible on the streets, the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Neha Bora, will ultimately find its expression at the polling stations.