The three were detained before disembarking from a flight in New Delhi, where the demonstration was scheduled to take place.
The protest follows weeks of opposition mobilisation over allegations of misconduct during a nationwide revision of voter lists conducted by the ECI.
Opposition parties and critics have warned that the exercise could disenfranchise millions of voters and benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The election commission has rejected allegations of wrongdoing, saying the special intensive revision aims to remove duplicate and ineligible voters.
Arvind Kejriwal of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party criticised the arrests, accusing the government of suppressing dissent. He said detaining the CJP leaders at the airport demonstrated fear of the movement.
Security tightened across New Delhi
Authorities imposed heightened security measures in the capital from Friday, deploying tens of thousands of police and paramilitary personnel to prevent protesters from reaching the main demonstration site.
Dozens of metro stations were closed, several trains bound for Delhi were cancelled, and mobile internet services were temporarily suspended around the protest area.
Television footage on Saturday showed police pursuing protesters and taking several people into vehicles in central Delhi. Local media reported that more than 200 protesters had been detained.
The demonstrators are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations surrounding the voter-list revision.
The latest mobilisation follows a protest campaign led by the CJP in July that resulted in the resignation of India’s education minister over an examination scandal.
