Jantar Mantar 2.0 if Gyanesh Kumar does not resign: Dipke

While acknowledging the Mumbai police’s support, the CJP leaders condemned the Delhi police for its action against youngsters during the last protests, calling Delhi police officer Sachin Sharma “the General Dyer of home minister Amit Shah

MUMBAI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke sharply criticized the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged deletion of 13 crore names from the electoral rolls. He warned that if the CEC is not removed, CJP and its supporters would launch Jantar Mantar 2.0, demanding the Prime Minister’s resignation.

Mumbai, India. Oct 02, 2026 - Abhijit Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), addressed party members during a protest at Shivaji Park, Dadar. Thousands of supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) gathered at Shivaji Park, Dadar, Mumbai, to protest Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the ongoing row over the Election Commission's functioning. The supporters demanded his resignation. Mumbai, India. Oct 02, 2026. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

‘Go Gyanu go’ was Dipke’s chosen slogan at the Shivaji Park protest on Friday, where the largely young crowd filled the air with chants of ‘Vote chor, gaddi chor.’ Thousands of supporters turned up, including celebrities from showbiz such as Shabana Azmi and Vishal Dadlani. Dipke was accompanied by team-members Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das.

Launching the protest on Gandhi Jayanti, Dipke said, “Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru were the soul, backbone and mind of India, and Modi cannot match their sacrifice, hard work and contribution.”

Many protests to follow

The protest, he said, was the first in a series planned across other states and cities such as Goa, Kolkata, Patna and Bengaluru, backed by the youth and Gen-Z, who he termed “our cadre,” if the CJP’s three demands are not met: resignation of Kumar, filing a criminal case against him and the restoration of the electoral rolls that existed before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by cancelling the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and the cancellation of the amended Representation of the People’s Act.

Co-convenor Das said, “We are beginning this agitation with the spirit of Mumbai. I want to warn the Delhi Police: improve yourselves, otherwise we will make you improve. This is Jantar Mantar Season 2 – a movement for justice, trust and the dreams of the youth. Modi has put locks on the aspirations of Gen Z, but two years after 2024, the youth are now coming forward.”

“The deletion of names represents roughly 13–14% of the total electorate, a figure large enough to sway election outcomes given that the vote-share gap between the NDA and the opposition in 2024 was only about 2%. In Delhi, 40,000 votes were allegedly deleted from Arvind Kejriwal’s constituency, where he lost by a narrow margin of 4,000–5,000 votes. In Tamil Nadu, 1 lakh votes were deleted, with DMK leader M K Stalin losing by just 10,000 votes. In West Bengal, 50,000 votes were deleted, and Mamata Banerjee lost by 15,000 votes,” said Dipke.

“Why were BJP strongholds not impacted by similar deletions?” he asked, accusing the BJP of orchestrating a strategy to divide voters along religious lines. Pointing out that “Hindu-Muslim politics would not work anymore,” he urged the gathering to “think beyond religion”.

While acknowledging the Mumbai police’s support, the CJP leaders condemned the Delhi police for its action against youngsters during the last protests, calling Delhi police officer Sachin Sharma “the General Dyer of home minister Amit Shah”.

Drawing a parallel between BJP’s ‘One Nation, One Election’ and Adolf Hitler’s rule, Dipke said: “If he wants to become Hitler, he should remember what happened to Hitler.”

Sena is BJP’s ‘shell co’

He also criticised the 2022–2024 wave of 111 MLA and MP defections, comparing them to an “IPL-style auction” driven by fear rather than support for Narendra Modi. He targeted deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde, labelling the Shinde-led Shiv Sena a “shell company” of the BJP aimed at weakening regional forces, and noted that despite a weak performance in Maharashtra in the 2024 elections, the BJP still gained seats by adding 40 lakh votes between the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Reacting to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’s remarks that protesters may face three days in jail for illegal assembly, he said: “Does the CM think that we are his MLAs who give in to threats? He should remember that he is the CM of a state which proudly showcases the legacy of Ambedkar, Savitribai Phule and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The youth are ready to go to jail for three months, forget about three days, after which we will be back on the streets.”

Cultural affairs minister and BJP leader Ashish Shelar said the CJP’s agitation against SIR of electoral rolls was “nothing but a grammar of anarchy.”

Sustaining push-back

First-time protest participant, 23-year-old Meenakshi Singh, a finance student, said: “I feel if everyone collectively puts pressure on the government, Kumar will go in no time. Kumar and everyone sitting in a position of power should understand that Gen Z won’t remain silent. If you back-stab people of this country who pay your salaries and fund your perks, you will have to go.”

Gayatri Gawande, 28, a law student, added, “The most important question for us is why we vote and what power we give them. If we want pro-people laws, we need to ensure that elections are free and fair.”

Graphic designer Karan Aswani, 24, however said while he is sceptical of CJP’s move against the government, he joined the protest at Shivaji Park to learn more about the outfit with a first-hand look at the activists. “I am not convinced about all the points CJP is making. However, being here and listening to all of them will help me make a better judgement about them,” he said.

Addressing the gathering, actor and activist Shabana Azmi, spoke about the importance of voting as a basic democratic right. “It makes me proud to see the number of Mumbaikars who have turned up at Shivaji Park. It is our democratic right to protest, and if our fundamental right to vote is taken away, nobody can stop us from protesting,” she said, emphasising that since childhood, “people are told to cast their vote”.

Singer songwriter Vishal Dadlani said: “I have never missed a single election. People who have compromised the sanctity of the electoral process should be opposed by every Indian, irrespective of political affiliation.”

The protest lasted from 5 pm to 7:30 pm, culminating in singing the National anthem.