Delhi's trading sector suffered an estimated loss of Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 11,000 crore due to disruptions caused by the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan, Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) chairman Brijesh Goyal claimed on Sunday, speaking to news agency ANI. Goyal said around 20 to 25 major markets near the venue were affected, with approximately 2.5 lakh shops remaining closed out of nearly three lakh shops in those markets — about 80%.
Source: ANI via Indian Economic Observer
Goyal said the figures were compiled from information shared by traders in different markets through WhatsApp groups associated with the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), and that about 5,000 vehicles, including tempos and trucks, could not operate, disrupting the movement of goods. He said the affected markets collectively generate turnover of about Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 12,000 crore in the peak Diwali period, with Dhanteras shopping due four days later, and asked who would compensate traders. CTI had sent a fourth letter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday morning and had repeatedly urged that the rally be postponed until after Diwali; Delhi Traffic Police had issued an advisory with restrictions and diversions from 10 am to 5 pm on November 1.
Source: ANI via Indian Economic Observer
Congress disputed the claim on Monday. Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, in a post on X reported by ANI, said the BJP's attempt to spread fear of losses and market shutdowns had been 'punctured', arguing that people arriving from across the country also shopped, that wholesale markets in Old Delhi opened, and that small shopkeepers and street vendors did abundant business. He alleged the warnings were a smear campaign meant to divert attention from the opposition's 'vote theft' allegations and to protect Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar — the rally's target.
Source: ANI via DevDiscourse
The India Press Agency's account noted the accounts remain sharply divided: traders in Connaught Place separately described weak customer demand, citing occupied parking and congestion concerns, which complicates Ramesh's assertion without establishing the citywide financial impact claimed by CTI. In the ANI report, Home Minister Amit Shah was quoted saying traders had pleaded with the organisers, held press conferences three times and written letters asking for the rally to be held after Diwali, pointing to the one peak week in which sweets and firecracker stocks must sell or turn into losses.
Source: India Press Agency (IPA News Pack)
Established: the rally was held on November 1, CTI had publicly urged postponement beforehand, and traffic restrictions were in force. Claimed and disputed: the Rs 10,000-11,000 crore loss figure and the 2.5 lakh shop closures are CTI's estimates, compiled from trader groups; Congress says trade was brisk instead. No official or independent assessment of the rally's commercial impact has been published.
What happens next: the dispute is now part of the wider political fight over the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, the issue the Ramlila Maidan rally was called to protest. Whether any market association or authority publishes a verifiable count of closures and losses will decide whether the traders' estimate hardens into a figure both sides must answer.