- CJP demands CEC Kumar’s resignation, threatening Oct 2 protests.
- Party alleges voter roll revision deleted 13 crore names.
- Report cited 13 crore deletions; EC commissioners raised objections.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has threatened to launch nationwide protests from October 2 if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by Saturday, with the agitation set to begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke issued the ultimatum at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, alleging that the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise has resulted in the deletion of crores of names from draft electoral rolls.
“If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India,” Dipke said.
If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India.
This Gandhi Jayanti let’s pledge to save democracy.
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) September 25, 2026
CJP co-convener Ashutosh Ranka said October 2 was an appropriate date for the group to launch its campaign. “This Gandhi Jayanti let’s pledge to save democracy,” Dipke said.
CJP Targets Gyanesh Kumar Over SIR
Dipke launched a sharp attack on Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the CEC’s actions posed a threat to India’s electoral process and demanded his immediate resignation.
“A report concerning the Election Commission that surfaced yesterday proves that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is the country’s biggest traitor,” Dipke said, while also accusing him of being “anti-national” and alleging that the government was deciding who gets to vote and who does not.
The remarks came after an Indian Express investigation reported that the SIR exercise had struck more than 13 crore names off draft voter rolls across 30 states and Union Territories.
The investigation also reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months on several issues linked to electoral-roll procedures, including Form 6, access to electoral-roll databases and the deletion and restoration of voter names.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected suggestions that decisions taken during the SIR exercise lacked the approval of all three Election Commissioners. It has maintained that differences of opinion are part of the decision-making process and that final SIR decisions were taken unanimously.
Dipke Questions ’13 Crore’ Voter Deletions
Dipke linked the reported number of names removed from draft rolls to the 2024 Lok Sabha election, questioning whether such deletions could influence electoral outcomes.
“In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the margin between the opposition and the ruling party (NDA) was just 2%. Deleting 13 crore votes is equivalent to deleting roughly 13% to 14% of the total votes,” he said.
Dipke questioned whether the deletions were intended to benefit the ruling establishment and asked why such a large number of names had been removed.
He also alleged that voter-roll changes had affected constituencies of several prominent opposition leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, MK Stalin and Arvind Kejriwal.
However, these constituency-specific allegations were made by Dipke and were not established by the Indian Express investigation cited in the report.
The investigation found that in 49 constituencies, the number of SIR deletions exceeded the victory margin in the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Of these, 26 were won by the BJP and 21 by the Trinamool Congress.
CJP Says Protest Is Not About Any Party
Dipke said the CJP’s opposition was not aimed at supporting any particular opposition party but was about the electoral process and voter participation.
“Now, we have no particular affinity for the opposition or any specific party. But in a democracy, if you wipe out the entire opposition, can it still be called a democracy? Is it a free and fair election?” he said.
The CJP’s proposed protests come amid continuing scrutiny of the SIR exercise and reported differences within the Election Commission over aspects of the electoral-roll revision process.
The Election Commission has maintained that the SIR decisions were approved by all three commissioners and has rejected suggestions of a breakdown in its decision-making process.
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