CJP to begin agitation today, demands Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation

The agitation will start at 4 pm near Gate No. 6 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park on Gandhi Jayanti in Mumbai, he said, and subsequently be taken to different parts of the country – such as Goa and Kolkata -- before culminating in a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. “It will continue till Kumar resigns,” he said

MUMBAI: Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), has announced a nationwide agitation starting from Mumbai on October 2 against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls. He demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, calling for greater accountability in the functioning of the Election Commission (EC).

Mumbai, India - Oct. 1, 2026: Abhijeet Dipke, Founder of Cockroach Janta Party addressing to media on Jail Bharo Andolan to be held at Shivaji Park on 2nd Oct. against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Press Club in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, October 1, 2026. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

“The CJP’s three principal demands are the resignation of Kumar, freezing the electoral roll prepared in 2025 and holding elections on the basis of that roll, and a transparent and independent process for appointing the next Election Commissioner, with participation from civil society,” he said, at a media interaction in Mumbai on Thursday.

The agitation will start at 4 pm near Gate No. 6 of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park on Gandhi Jayanti in Mumbai, he said, and subsequently be taken to different parts of the country – such as Goa and Kolkata -- before culminating in a sit-in at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi. “It will continue till Kumar resigns,” he said.

Mumbai police have however denied permission for the proposed protest, citing restrictions on the use of the ground, the absence of the required civic permission and concerns over noise and traffic. This led chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to state that if the protest went ahead, protesters would be jailed for three days before getting bail. Dipke reacted by saying, “Mee punha yein (I will be back),” mocking the line made famous by Fadnavis during a pre-poll speech ahead of the 2019 Assembly elections.

“People have completely lost faith in the electoral process,” Dipke said, calling attention to the revision of electoral rolls and “how the government was deciding who would remain on the voters’ list”. He also alleged that the EC was functioning under the influence of the political executive.

According to the activist, around 13 crore voters had been deleted from electoral rolls since 2024 – the number close to the vote-share difference between the NDA and the opposition INDIA bloc in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “When you get rid of 14% of the vote share, the results are already decided,” he alleged.

He also alleged that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had raised questions about voters’ rights. “There is only an illusion of democracy right now. No actual democracy exists,” he said.

He said that as Gyanesh Kumar was appointed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit shah, they should sack him. “If they do not sack Kumar, the anger against the CEC will turn towards Modi and Shah,” he said.

While he welcomed the support extended by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, he said political ideologies should be kept aside where citizens’ voting rights were concerned. He added that the INDIA alliance partners should also raise allegations concerning electoral irregularities.

He however said that the CJP is not taking help from any single political party as they want to keep this an independent movement. “The CJP will not be part of any political programme either. This is an independent movement and it will remain one” he said.

The CJP founder also criticised the handling of student grievances, particularly allegations of examination irregularities and paper leaks in recruitment examinations.