As a boisterous group passed by, it screamed: Vote Chor! And a tired young women sitting on the pavement murmured without even looking up: Gaddi chhod! (Leave the chair, thief of votes.)After walking up and down Barakhamba Road since 12 noon on Monday, October 12, the young girl felt exhausted by 4 pm. Her placard carrying the same message as the slogan being screamed, also rested on the road next to her.Everybody around her appeared weary, too, after all they had been shouting slogans for almost four hours. Noise takes a toll on humans. Those ceaseless words: “BJP kay daftar mein (In the BJP’s office)!” now rained on the mind like stones.Those who had been shouting the loudest “Vote chor kahan milega (Where is the vote thief)?” a few hours back didn’t join the chorus “BJP kay daftar mein.” It seemed the Opposition had frittered away a great opportunity. The unprecedented crowd, brimming with energy, wasn’t only tired but many had started leaving.Suddenly, the sound of drums beating jolted everybody out of their inertia. Frenzied groups of boys and girls were running towards the entry point, screaming, “Aa gaya, aa gaya…(He is here, he is here)”The crowds swelled, thousands upon thousands jostling for a closer look. Those acerbic words “BJP kay dafter mein…” blaring from all corners fell silent. “Dikha kya (Could you see him)?” women mumbled, piercing through the crowd to reach the edge of the road.Rahul Gandhi had finally arrived.The police and the para-military, who thewwrote the stories for the last few days with their muscles and batons, stood as spectators on both sides of the road. It was a people’s celebration today – what a relief from the ugly spectacles of peaceful protesters being forcibly lifted and thrown into the waiting buses.Freedom returned to the roads. The energy of joy and curiosity, of solidarity and democratic dissent, flowed uninterrupted as a massive crowd sang out, “Rahul tumko aana hai/Modi tumko jaana hai. (Rahul you have to come, Modi you must leave)” Almost everybody was astounded by the size of the crowd with most people conceding they had seen nothing like it ever before.If people’s voice has any consequence in a democracy – even in this wretched time – Narendra Modi should be very worried. This wasn’t a crowd drawn through allurements or coercion. This wasn’t a crowd fooled by false promises and religious passion.Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and others during the ‘March for Democracy’ by India bloc leaders in New Delhi, October 12, 2026. Photo: PTI/Salman AliThey were animated by their love of democracy; they came on their own because their most fundamental right – to vote – was in peril. The Congress did mobilise its MLAs, MPs and senior leaders from across the country, and they arrived on buses that cruised with the swarming crowds. Make no mistake, this was a verdict from the street – the election chief Gyanesh Kumar’s continuance is untenable.Unfortunately for the RSS-BJP, the crisis doesn’t end there. The foolish attempt to crush dissent by deploying the police and paramilitary forces seems to have spoiled Modi’s case. The unlettered or the educated, the rich or the poor, the young or the old, everybody now understands Gyanesh Kumar works for Modi’s victories.A woman from the Karol Bagh locality was seething with rage because both her sons were unemployed. She burst out, “Gyanesh hasn’t done this chori for her mausi ya beti (aunt or daughter). Modi is the beneficiary and he must go.”A textile trader, who confessed facing multiple losses over the last many years, said, “I am prepared to come daily, for months, till this government goes. Gyanesh is just a pawn. His exit will make no material change.”Rahul Gandhi, who is spearheading this campaign against Vote Chori, knows this is not a turnkey project. He said today that any presumption of a quick result could be fallacious. He exhorted people to prepare for a long battle.Also read: To Save Himself, Modi Must Get Rid of His LiabilityWhereas police action over the last few days might have demoralised protesters and caused psychological fatigue, today’s magnificent celebration of democratic rights is sure to lift the morale. The message is clear now – the police can’t strangle democracy. People have reclaimed their space and declared to the rulers that democracy isn’t yet a ceremonial façade; it is the soul of a nation’s life.Modi will aggravate the blunder by misreading the message from the ground. Forget the oppositional unity. Ordinary people are aghast at the amorality of this episode. They are livid. A young girl, when asked about Modi’s performance, blurted, “Hah, b****y t**g! Don’t want to hear his name.”An old man who retired from government service said, “Never imagined India would come to this pass. What’s the character of a prime minister who refuses to order an independent investigation into the activities of the Election Commissioner?”Many young men and women used abusive expressions, showing their disgust with the evasion of accountability.A sense of responsibility and a demonstrative commitment to accountability and justice could have saved Modi. The strategy to own up Gyanesh Kumar, to show that the Chief Election Commissioner will be safe in the government’s lap, has left the janta flabbergasted.Had the Supreme Court acted responsibly and shown itself as the saviour, people might still not have hit the streets. But the apparent collapse of institutional safeguards has forced this people’s uprising. Gen Z is not alone now. Older men and women have teamed up with it. The middle-aged have realised the folly of their ways and are eager to rectify their mistakes.Also read: Modi Is Toast, But Is the Damage to the Polity Irreparable?An elderly couple, elated by the question “Chanda chor kahan milega?” screamed, “BJP kay daftar mein.” They told this reporter, “Nothing has shocked us in our life than the loot at Ram Mandir.”A young woman wearing a headband like a warrior blew into the scene shouting: Vote Chor kahan milega?” Everybody around, including those who were tired and hungry, responded, “BJP kay daftar mein.”The crisis is real. The RSS-BJP should understand the solution is not manufacturing lies and calumny about Rahul Gandhi on sycophantic TV channels. It is now looking like a people’s war against unethical politics. There is a sense of hurt. Talk to people on the ground and you discover the depth of their anger that had been building up for years.Rs 15 lakh in every account might have been a joke for Amit Shah, but it felt like a betrayal for the teeming millions. Then came unemployment and rising prices. All this was causing disquiet, but the dormant sentiment needed something bigger, more overtly amoral, for an explosion. Chanda chori (donation theft) pricked the wounds. Vote-Chori caused the blast. Modi is smart enough to know – blasts can’t be swept under the carpet.Sanjay K. Jha is a political commentator.For our full coverage on the SIR and the issues it has brought to citizens, click here.