NEW DELHI – The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday extended its support to the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s November 1 rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. It also repeated its demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists. The move suggests that separate protests over alleged electoral fraud are coming together as one movement.
CJP’s Message
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted “Nation above all!” on X and shared a statement from the youth-led group. It said the basic principle of democracy is that people choose their government, not that the government chooses its voters. The statement claimed that Gyanesh Kumar has lost the trust needed to oversee free and fair elections through SIR, and that his resignation is necessary to restore the Election Commission’s credibility. The CJP said it would support all organisations fighting for free and fair elections.
It is not yet clear whether Dipke or other CJP members will attend the rally or appear on stage.
From Parallel Campaigns to One Cause
For weeks, the CJP and the Congress ran separate campaigns against Kumar. Before that, there were protests in June and July over paper leaks. The Congress did not join the CJP’s October 10 protest in Delhi, citing its own nationwide agitation. The Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) backed the CJP. So did the Aam Aadmi Party and the DMK, which have strained relations with the Congress-led bloc. Dipke worked with AAP’s social media and campaign operations between 2020 and 2023.
Dipke has said the CJP will stay out of party politics but is not against the INDIA bloc, since both protests share a cause. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has used the phrase “all protests are one.” Gandhi reportedly invited Dipke to a high tea with INDIA bloc leaders and civil society groups, but Dipke did not attend. Gandhi also criticised Delhi Police for arresting CJP leaders.
Those leaders, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde, were held for trying to enter Jantar Mantar after it was denotified as a protest site. Das and Ranka were released from Tihar after seven days, after giving a written undertaking not to call protests there until the site is denotified according to law. AISA chief Neha Bora has acted as a bridge between the two protests.
Rally Preparations
Ramlila Maidan is one of three grounds Delhi Police named for large demonstrations after Jantar Mantar was denotified. Police have granted a no-objection certificate with conditions for a programme between 10 am and 5 pm. Congress MP Jebi Mather said the rally was a joint decision made after consulting INDIA bloc parties, and that there is no difference within the Opposition on demanding the CEC’s resignation. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has asked party MPs to stay in Delhi from October 30 to November 1.
BJP Objects to the Date
BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Rahul Gandhi was insisting on November 1 “to hurt the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.” He claimed several INDIA bloc members wanted the rally moved. Gandhi replied on X by thanking the BJP and its allies for publicising the rally.
How It All Started
The latest agitation began after a September 23 media report. It said election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times in 10 months to SIR decisions taken through the CEC. The Election Commission says its SIR decisions were lawful and unanimous.
Dipke founded the CJP on May 16 as a satirical group. This followed remarks by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant at a May 15 hearing, which were read as comparing unemployed youth to cockroaches. The CJI later clarified that he meant people using fake degrees. The group says it helped bring about a change of education minister in July.
