On October 10, law enforcement authorities in New Delhi imposed security measures across parts of the capital to suppress youth-led protests against recent revisions to the electoral rolls, which critics say have disenfranchised millions of voters and undermined confidence in India’s election system. Police detained thousands of demonstrators and targeted leaders of the Cockroach Janta Party, a protest movement that had called for the demonstrations. Despite efforts to prevent them, protesters filled the streets and, two days later, tens of thousands marched through central New Delhi, joined by opposition politicians, student activists, and civil society members.

These events reflect a deepening crisis in India’s democratic processes under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government, which has been in power for 12 years. Observers note significant erosion in the autonomy of democratic institutions, accompanied by increasing government repression and diminished public trust in the electoral system and the Election Commission of India.

The current voter-roll revision, known as the Special Intensive Revision, requires citizens to verify their eligibility through documentation and verification processes that critics argue are opaque and cumbersome. Unlike the historical approach, in which governments actively enrolled voters based on principles of inclusive citizenship, the new process places the burden on individuals to prove their right to vote. The reliance on centralized software to verify documents has raised concerns about algorithmic errors and inconsistencies, especially in a linguistically diverse nation with uneven record-keeping practices.

Since the revision began, more than 130 million names have been removed from voter lists nationwide. The Election Commission states this effort aims to remove deceased, duplicate, or ineligible voters and insists the process is standard electoral housekeeping. However, opponents claim the overhaul disproportionately impacts Muslims, other minorities, and marginalized communities perceived as less likely to support the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The government denies these allegations.

In the eastern state of West Bengal, where 2.7 million deletions were still pending judicial review during state elections in April, courts have suggested that voters excluded under the new rules can participate in future elections — a stance that has drawn criticism for disregarding immediate disenfranchisement.

The voter-roll revisions occur amid broader political tensions. In May, the leak of a medical school entrance exam for over two million candidates was canceled by authorities, sparking outrage among younger Indians concerned about job prospects and social mobility. The protests intensified after a remark by India’s chief justice referring to some unemployed youth as “cockroaches,” which activist Abhijeet Dipke embraced by founding the Cockroach Janta Party. Since then, the movement has used satirical expression and street demonstrations to highlight frustrations with economic stagnation, educational inequity, women’s safety, and what protesters view as increasingly authoritarian and religiously polarized governance under Modi.

For the BJP, the protests over the voter-roll revision represent a significant political challenge, threatening to undermine the party’s long-standing declaration that its substantial electoral victories affirm India’s democratic health. Analysts warn that while the government may seek to suppress dissent and bank on upcoming state elections to reinforce its legitimacy, the ongoing controversy over voter inclusion could cast doubt on the credibility of those electoral outcomes.

As protests and state responses intensify, the developments in India’s capital and beyond may prove pivotal in defining the trajectory of the world’s largest democracy in the years to come.