The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has announced plans for another protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on October 10 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke made the announcement after thousands gathered at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on October 2, despite police denying permission for the demonstration.
The CJP is demanding Kumar’s resignation over what it describes as irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and is calling for greater transparency in the functioning of the Election Commission. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that decisions related to SIR were taken unanimously and has announced measures to review electoral-roll processes and help eligible voters who may have been left out.
The proposed Delhi protest marks a fresh escalation by the youth-led movement, which previously led a prolonged agitation over examination irregularities that ended after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned in July.
‘Peaceful Agitation’ Planned
The proposed October 10 demonstration follows a large gathering at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Gandhi Jayanti, where CJP supporters assembled to demand Kumar’s resignation. Police had denied permission for the protest, citing administrative and public-order concerns, but the gathering went ahead amid a heavy security presence.
Reports put the turnout in the thousands, while some accounts reported more than 10,000 people at the venue. Several prominent public figures, including actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, singer-composer Vishal Dadlani and filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, were among those present.
Following the Mumbai protest, Dipke announced that supporters from across India would travel to Delhi if Kumar did not step down. In a post on X, he said the proposed action would be a “peaceful agitation” and called on citizens who want free and fair elections to join the protest. The announcement represents a shift from the CJP’s earlier campaign, which had centred largely on examination-related grievances, towards questions surrounding electoral rolls and the functioning of the poll panel.
SIR Row Fuels Protest
The immediate issue behind the CJP’s campaign is the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The organisation has alleged that the process has resulted in the deletion or exclusion of large numbers of voters and has questioned the Election Commission’s handling of the exercise.
The allegations have also been fuelled by reports concerning internal discussions within the poll panel about aspects of the voter-roll revision process. The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised questions about decisions connected with SIR on multiple occasions.
The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that its SIR decisions were the result of internal divisions. It has said that decisions concerning the exercise were unanimous and announced that agendas of future Commission meetings would be circulated in advance, with minutes issued afterwards, as part of efforts to improve transparency.
The Commission has also ordered a special drive across 20 states and Union Territories to identify eligible voters who may have been left out of electoral rolls following SIR. Booth Level Officers have been directed to assist with enrolment, while an independent review of the ECINet electoral-roll software has also been announced.
From Exams To Elections
The CJP’s latest campaign comes only months after its prolonged agitation at Jantar Mantar over alleged irregularities in competitive examinations, including concerns surrounding NEET. The movement began as a largely online youth campaign and grew into a nationwide protest, with demonstrators demanding accountability from the Education Ministry and calling for Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation. The 49-day agitation ended in July after Pradhan resigned and the government gave assurances concerning several of the protesters’ demands.
The CJP has now taken that protest model into the electoral sphere, arguing that questions over voter lists require similar public scrutiny. Meanwhile, the October 2 protests were not limited to Mumbai. Demonstrators and opposition groups also gathered in Delhi over the SIR issue and demanded Kumar’s resignation, with police detaining hundreds of people during the demonstrations. The developments indicate that concerns over electoral-roll revisions have become a wider public and political issue, extending beyond the CJP itself.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Peaceful protest and the right to question institutions are important parts of a democratic society, but public disagreement is most constructive when it remains grounded in facts, transparency and dialogue. Allegations concerning voter-list revisions deserve to be examined carefully, while institutions such as the Election Commission must continue explaining their decisions openly and addressing legitimate concerns from citizens.
At the same time, protesters and authorities share a responsibility to ensure that demonstrations remain peaceful and that public order is maintained without undermining democratic expression. As the CJP prepares for another proposed gathering in Delhi, how can citizens, protesters and electoral authorities create a space where concerns about the voting process are addressed through evidence, accountability and meaningful dialogue?
Also Read: ‘Abhijeet Dipke Go Back’: Slogans Raised Against CJP Founder Amid Mumbai Protest
If Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi & protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10.
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) October 2, 2026
If Delhi Police tries to stop us, wherever they stop us will become our Jantar Mantar..
Ours will be a peaceful andolan. We will walk on the path shown…
