‘Vote chor’ graffiti, littered roads, and a muddy ‘catwalk’ at Ramlila Maidan after INDIA bloc rally

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Graffiti on walls along the Jawaharlal Nehru Marg by portestors following following the INDIA bloc rally in Delhi on November 1, 2026. | Photo Credit: Lavpreet Kaur

Central Delhi’s roads and walls bore the marks of protest in the aftermath of the INDIA bloc rally on Sunday evening (November 1, 2026), with spray-painted slogans — including “Vote chor, gaddi chor”, “Rollback SIR”, and “Illegal PM” —splashed along Minto Road, amid the flotsam and jetsam of discarded plastic bottles, torn placards, and other waste.

Follow the highlights of the ‘Chalo Dilli’ protests on November 1, 2026.

A walk back from Ramlila Maidan along Jawaharlal Nehru Marg and Minto Road revealed stretches littered with dust, torn banners, posters, food wrappers, and empty water bottles. On the central divider, protesters had spray-painted messages such as “Modi must go” and “Ban RSS”, among others.

Even as smaller groups continued to raise slogans and protest along the footpaths, waste collectors moved in to gather empty bottles and other recyclable material for resale.

“For us, protests are an opportunity to earn some money because people throw away bottles and other things, which we can collect and sell. I usually do not work on Sundays, but we came here especially today to collect these bottles and make some money,” said a worker carrying a large plastic bag filled with empty water bottles.

Worker carrying a large plastic bag to collect plastic bottles and recyclable waste during the rally. | Photo Credit: Lavpreet Kaur

Two teenagers, also moving through the crowd with large bags stuffed with empty bottles, said they had combined attending the rally with collecting recyclable waste.

“We wanted to join the protest, and my father told us to carry a bag and collect whatever plastic waste we could find. So, we are attending the rally and working at the same time,” one of them said with a smile.

At Ramlila Maidan, a ‘catwalk’ of a different kind awaited thousands of protesters, as the rain that lashed Delhi on Thursday and Friday (October 29 and 30) left parts of the ground muddy and slippery.

Amid the tricolour tents, rows of chairs and flags, and a decorated stage set up for INDIA bloc leaders to address the gathering, protesters had to negotiate their way carefully across the rain-soaked ground.

Participants from political parties, youth organisations, women’s groups, and farmers’ bodies adjusted their steps as they made their way through muddy stretches. Some placed the placards and posters they had carried to the rally under their feet to prevent their footwear from sinking into the soft ground.

Large waterlogged patches also dotted the venue, forcing people to tiptoe across small pieces of concrete slabs and sticks placed at intervals to help them cross the affected stretches without stepping into the water.

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