Former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal were also among those detained as they tried to join the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest in Delhi.
"The government is misbehaving with us," Banerjee said in a video statement from inside the police bus.
The TMC chief, along with her party MPs, including Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, were detained from South Avenue in central Delhi. Mamata Banerjee protested with a band-aid on her mouth.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal was also detained as he tried to move out of his house to join the protest.
Meanwhile, the CJP was clearly prepared for worst-case scenarios, including the detention of its top leadership. Following the detention of key CJP leaders ahead of the Jantar Mantar protest, founder Abhijeet Dipke handed over the baton to Ajinkya Shinde to lead the demonstration in Delhi.
The party released a pre-recorded video message from Dipke, filmed on Friday night in anticipation of his arrest ahead of the October 10 protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
CJP leaders Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das, and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by the Delhi Police aboard their aircraft immediately upon landing in the capital. They were later reportedly moved to Gurugram.
"Until Abhijeet Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka are in detention, CJP's organisation in-charge Ajinkya Shinde will lead this protest at Jantar Mantar," CJP said while sharing the video on social media.
The development came as security was tightened across the national capital ahead of the CJP's proposed protest. Delhi Police had denied permission for the protest, and Section 163 was imposed around Jantar Mantar.
Dipke had earlier said that he was prepared to face arrest while travelling to Delhi for the protest.
Who is Ajinkya Shinde?
A close associate of Dipke for years, Ajinkya Shinde from Maharashtra previously served as a social media coordinator for AAP’s state unit. Shinde, who reportedly first met Dipke in Goa in 2016, had earlier quit his corporate job to work full-time for the AAP.
After joining AAP, he dedicated a year to the Goa elections. Although the party failed to open its account in the Goa Assembly elections, Ajinkya remained committed to the party and began working with the AAP Maharashtra team. He has reportedly toured every district in Maharashtra. Ajinkya hails from Alibaug, a coastal town in the state.
Dhruv Rathee, other protesters detained
Several supporters who arrived in groups to take part in the protest were detained at railway stations and bus stands across the capital.
Earlier on Saturday morning, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee was also detained in Gurugram by Delhi Police. Rathee, a known critic of the Narendra Modi government, had arrived in India from Germany earlier this week and had joined the CJP protest in Bengaluru on October 8.
Dramatic scenes played out near Jantar Mantar as police cracked down on demonstrators trying to reach the venue. Those detained were bundled into police buses and whisked away to Chhatrasal Stadium in the capital.
Several left leaders, including former Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, K.K. Shailaja, Brinda Karat and John Brittas, were detained. Neha Bora and other activists were also taken into custody. Police also arrested at least 400 protesters in an overnight crackdown in different parts of the capital.
