‘Resign, Halt Polls, Repeal 2023 Law’: CJP’s 3 Demands From EC, Sets Oct 2 For Nationwide Protest

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has stepped up its campaign against the Election Commission, giving Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a 48-hour deadline to resign and announcing a nationwide protest from October 2 if he does not step down.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Friday that the protest would begin in Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti and subsequently spread to cities across the country. The announcement came a day after the party launched its campaign against the Election Commission and warned of a “Jantar Mantar 2.0” agitation.

The CJP's campaign centres on three demands. First, it wants Kumar to resign and has called for an independent investigation into decisions taken during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Second, it wants the SIR-related exclusions frozen, the January 2025 electoral rolls restored pending verification, and relevant records secured for examination by the Supreme Court or an independent judicially supervised inquiry. Third, it has demanded repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, followed by reforms to the appointment system.

Dipke has also urged opposition parties to stop contesting elections if they genuinely believe the electoral process is being “rigged”. He argued that continuing to participate would lend legitimacy to elections they themselves allege are unfair.

The CJP's demands come amid controversy over a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months on issues including voter additions and deletions, changes to Form 6 and access to electoral-roll data. The party has demanded that the Election Commission publish the relevant objections and its responses.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that its decisions, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous, disputing the suggestion of a breakdown in decision-making.

With the resignation deadline falling on September 26, the next flashpoint is now October 2, when the CJP says it will take its campaign from Mumbai to cities across India if Kumar does not quit.