CJP's Dipke announces Jantar Mantar protest on October 10, demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Abhijeet Dipke announced a fresh protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar on October 10, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, after leading a massive demonstration at Mumbai's Shivaji Park on Friday, September 26, that drew thousands of people.

"If Gyanesh Kumar doesn't resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi and protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10," Dipke said in a post on X, calling it a peaceful agitation and urging every citizen who wants free and fair elections to join. Speaking earlier at Shivaji Park, he had warned of "Jantar Mantar 2.0" if Kumar did not step down, giving a call for "Chalo Delhi."

Police had denied permission for the Shivaji Park event, and heavy security was deployed up to Dadar station. Despite this, and defying the afternoon heat, young men and women turned up in large numbers. Protesters carried tricolours and posters reading "Gyanu, Tujha Democracy Var Bharosa Nay Kay?", "Gyanesh BRO, JUST RESIGN" and "Gaddaar Gyaanu Must Go." Activists from the Student Federation of India (SFI) and other youth groups joined the demonstration, with AISF members from Pune playing musical instruments. The protest fell on Mahatma Gandhi's birth anniversary, and the stage featured quotes on non-violence alongside tributes to B.R. Ambedkar, with the title track from "Rang De Basanti" and A.R. Rahman's "Vande Mataram" played at the venue.

CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde demanded that Kumar resign and face criminal proceedings, and called for freezing the 2025 voter lists and scrapping the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners.

Dipke alleged that the deletion of voters had helped the BJP win states it had not won even at the peak of the "Modi wave." He claimed 13 crore voters had been deleted over two years, and that Kumar was appointed just 15 days before the 2024 general election specifically to widen the margin between the NDA and the INDIA bloc, which he said had stood at just 2 per cent. He further alleged that 40 lakh voters were added to the rolls to help the BJP during the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election. In Delhi, he claimed, 40,000 voters were deleted from AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal's constituency, where he lost by 4,000 votes. In Tamil Nadu, nearly one lakh voters were allegedly deleted from former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's constituency, where he lost by 10,000 votes, with a similar pattern alleged in West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's constituency. Responding to BJP supporters who cite opposition wins in Telangana, Karnataka and Jharkhand as proof of fair elections, Dipke said, "When the match is fixed, not all balls are no-balls and not all catches are dropped."

He also accused the BJP of working to dismantle regional parties, starting with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra, calling the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena a "shell company." Dipke said Maharashtra was chosen to launch the protest against Kumar because the alleged irregularities originated in the state. He also criticised the proposal for simultaneous elections, alleging the BJP's real goal was "One Nation, One Election, One Party," and said the government's decision to call for fresh protests within two months of the earlier Jantar Mantar demonstration over the NEET paper leak reflected its incompetence.

The event drew a notable turnout of public figures, including actors Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, filmmakers Vishal Bhardwaj and Hansal Mehta, musician Vishal Dadlani, and Tushar Gandhi, great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. Student Manish Mandal wore jewellery fashioned from chocolate wrappers while holding a banner reading "Fraud detergent powder" in Devanagari script. The Shiv Sena (UBT) extended support to the protest; local MLA Mahesh Sawant said party leader Aaditya Thackeray could not attend due to illness.

CJP leader Saurav Das criticised the Delhi Police over the detention of protesters at an earlier Jantar Mantar demonstration, saying, "Delhi Police has again resorted to brutality. We warn Delhi Police to improve or we will improve you." Communist activist Shailesh Kamble said several Left-affiliated organisations took part in the Shivaji Park protest.

Law student Aayan Patel, who carried a placard reading "Gyanu Tuza Democracy Var Bharosa Nay Kay," said many students from his college had joined the demonstration, adding that protecting voting rights was essential for the next generation's future. Teenager Anuja, speaking from the stage, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have done more for his supporters, and that the government appeared unable to figure out how to respond to the growing agitation.