Indian party sets 48-hour deadline for election chief, threatens nationwide protests

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has given Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar 48 hours to resign, warning that it will launch nationwide protests if he remains in office. At a Delhi press conference on Thursday, the party also called for changes to voter rolls, an inquiry into the Election Commission’s revision exercise and a new law for appointing election commissioners.

Updated: 2026-09-24 11:00 UTC

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke accused the election chief of undermining voters’ rights and said the party would begin demonstrations across the country before bringing its protest to Delhi. The demand followed the party’s allegation that recent elections and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had damaged the prospect of free and fair voting.

Co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka set out three further demands. CJP wants upcoming elections halted and voter rolls restored to their pre-SIR form in every state. It also called for an independent commission to examine the revision process and asked the Supreme Court to take custody of files related to the Election Commission’s decisions.

The party’s final proposal is to repeal the 2023 law governing appointments of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners, replacing it with legislation that would involve civil-society groups. CJP urged opposition parties to take a clear position on its claims of election rigging.

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