New Delhi [India], November 1 : Ahead of the 'Chalo Delhi' mega rally at Ramlila Maidan, leaders of the INDIA bloc on Sunday remained firm on the demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resignation, while the BJP dismissed it as a "launch" event for Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
The rally is part of the opposition's protest against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. It follows a public "impeachment" programme against Kumar held in the capital on October 31. Prominent leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Hemant Soren, Revanth Reddy, Tejashwi Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav are expected to attend.
CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said the day held special significance in modern India's political history, asserting that Gyanesh Kumar "will have to go" in the face of massive public turnout. 
"There will be a massive rally of INDIA alliance parties today at Ramlila Maidan. This day assumes special significance in modern India's political history... More than a million people are going to join this rally... Gyanesh Kumar will have to go because no one can withstand this kind of public upsurge," he told ANI.
Echoing similar sentiments, JMM leader Manoj Pandey hailed the resolution demanding Kumar's removal passing unanimously at Saturday's mock parliament.
"Yesterday's event was a success, and today, there is a 'maha-rally.' Since this morning, the scenes in Delhi — a massive crowd, a veritable sea of people — have been moving toward Ramlila Maidan. I do not believe Delhi has ever witnessed a revolution or a movement of this scale... I am confident that today's rally will prove to be the decisive turning point, and Gyanesh Kumar will have to be removed," Pandey said.
Hitting back at the opposition, BJP spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill dismissed the rally as a publicity exercise.
"The Ramlila Maidan rally by the Congress Party is, in reality, an RRL attempt 101, a Rahul relaunch attempt 101, another expensive PR exercise to keep Rahul Gandhi busy in between his vacations, especially on a Sunday," Shergill said.
He questioned the "vote chori" (vote theft) allegation, turning the question on states with Congress government. "Till now, why has he failed to give proof of vote chori? If there was vote chori, how did Rahul Gandhi win two Lok Sabha seats and then his sister won his vacated seat in Wayanad? If there was vote chori, how did the Congress Party win Telangana, Himachal, and Karnataka?" he said. 
"Why is there no Chief Minister of the Congress Party in Tamil Nadu for more than 59 years? In Bengal for 49 years, in Sikkim for 42 years, in Uttar Pradesh for 37 years, in Bihar for 36 years, in Gujarat for 30 years, in Odisha for 26 years, in Nagaland for 23 years, and Maharashtra for 12 years?" he added.
The BJP is set to hold a separate counter march in West Delhi to remember the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, accusing the Congress of holding a political rally on the anniversary of the violence. The march begins at 11:30 am from Hari Nagar Bus Depot to Tilak Nagar Metro Station.