Ramlila Maidan turned into fortress ahead of Congress-led anti-CEC rally
What's the story
Delhi's Ramlila Maidan is set to host a major rally on November 1, organized by the Congress-led bloc. In preparation, the venue will be heavily fortified with extensive security measures. Her HT, nearly 3,000 Delhi Police personnel will be deployed in and around the venue, and nearly 150 high-definition and AI-enabled CCTV cameras will cover the area. A temporary police control room will also be set up to oversee live feeds from these cameras.
Twitter Post
Preparations underway
#WATCH | Delhi | Preparations are underway at Ramlila Maidan ahead of the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally against alleged 'vote theft', SIR and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar pic.twitter.com/Cu9SPtWQT4
— ANI (@ANI) October 29, 2026
Security measures
Contingency plan for safe evacuation of top politicians
Furthermore, most of the security personnel will be equipped with body-worn cameras.
The Delhi Police have also prepared a contingency plan for the safe evacuation of politicians, including Rahul Gandhi.
One gate at Ramlila Ground has been reserved for this purpose.
The venue can accommodate around 50,000 people and has eight entry and exit gates.
Two of these gates will be exclusively used by VVIPs and senior officers, while three others will be reserved for protesters after thorough security checks.
Attendance estimate
Estimated attendance and purpose of the rally
The Delhi Police's intelligence unit has estimated that the rally will be attended by around 40,000-50,000 people from Delhi and other states.
The rally is part of protests by opposition parties and other groups against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), in which they are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Venue division
Effective crowd management strategies in place
The entire Ramlila Maidan will be divided into eight regions and 14 zones for effective crowd management, officers with knowledge to the security plan said.
Each region will be headed by a Deputy Commissioner of Police or an officer of equivalent rank.
An Assistant Commissioner of Police-rank officer will oversee each zone, assisted by at least 25 inspectors and personnel from other ranks.
Access control
Parking facilities and protest site updates
Parking facilities have been arranged around Rajghat and Mata Sundari College for protesters arriving from other states.
From these locations, they will be directed to walk to Ramlila Ground.
No one will be allowed to move towards the New Delhi areas, officers said.
Ramlila Maidan is one of the three sites the Delhi Police approved for protests after it de-notified Jantar Mantar as a protest site.
The other two are Burari Ground and CBD Ground.