Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Monday expressed skepticism over the upcoming elections, asserting that participating in polls would be 'pointless' as long as Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar stays in office.
Speaking to reporters, Dipke alleged that the BJP is winning in states where it failed to secure victory even at the "peak of the 'Modi wave'."
He said, “I feel that until Gyanesh Kumar resigns and ensures free and fair elections, there is no point in participating in such polls, because the winner is already predetermined.”
"The BJP is winning in states where it couldn't even secure a victory during the peak of the 'Modi wave'—and this is happening because of Gyanesh Kumar. Once Gyanesh Kumar leaves and the SIR freezes, only then will we know how many seats the BJP actually wins," the CJP founder added.
Dipke made these remarks while visiting Pune to extend solidarity to students protesting against the Maharashtra government over the alleged Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC) examination irregularities, news agency ANI reported.
Also Read | CJP’s Dipke warns of ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’ at Mumbai protest, demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation
'Will keep fighting...': Dipke
Earlier on Saturday, amid reports of a case being filed against Dipke over the protest in Mumbai's Shivaji Park against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, the CJP founder took to X and said, "File more cases but we will still keep fighting to save our democracy."
A resident and advocate, Siddhi Deolekar, on Friday said she lodged a complaint at Shivaji Park Police Station against CJP's Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka, Saurav Das and Ratna Singh for allegedly proceeding with the protest despite denial of permission, as HT reported earlier.
ECI and SIR political row
The remarks by CJP founder Dipke come amid a political firestorm that erupted following a report by The Indian Express stating that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months over decisions related to voter registration, electoral rolls, and the technology systems.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions.
(with inputs from ANI)