Rahul Gandhi was detained by police near Akashvani Bhavan during a protest by 200 MPs at the Election Commission headquarters on 6 October 2026 at 2 pm.
The march began that morning at Parliament’s Makar Dwar, with Congress, Samajwadi, and other opposition MPs converging in a wave of dissent that rippled through the capital—red caps, scarves, and placards read ‘One kachori, two samosas; Gyanesh, there is no trusting you’, while Jaya Bachchan held a banner accusing the Election Commission of discriminating against PDA votes.
A few MPs, including Akhilesh Yadav, were sidelined by heavy police presence; Yadav, who had flown in from Lucknow, remained seated on the ground, citing fever, while Rahul Gandhi refused to board a bus and walked toward Akashvani Bhavan, where he was stopped at the gate, briefly argued with security, and was eventually allowed inside with his sister Priyanka.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has ordered all party MPs to stay in Delhi, signalling that the protest will persist, and the alliance has booked Ramlila Maidan for a mega rally on 1 November, while a meeting with the President is tentatively scheduled for 7, 8 or 9 October.
Adding a new dimension, Biju Janata Dal MPs Manas Mangaraj and Sulata Deo joined the march—an unprecedented move that could reshape alliances ahead of the elections.