India’s Cockroach Janata Party Gives Election Chief 48 Hours to Resign
NEW DELHI —
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke issued the ultimatum at a news conference in New Delhi on Thursday, amid growing political and public scrutiny of the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls and its ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Dipke accused the Election Commission of undermining voters’ rights and questioned the conduct of the poll panel under Kumar’s leadership. He said the proposed nationwide protests would follow the pattern of an earlier demonstration organised by the party at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar in June.
“We believe the Chief Election Commissioner should resign to ensure free and fair elections,” Dipke said, according to reports of the news conference.
Dispute over voter-roll revision
At the centre of the controversy is the Election Commission’s SIR programme, which is intended to review and update electoral rolls.
A recent investigation by The Indian Express reported that more than 130 million names had been removed from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and union territories during the SIR exercise. The report also said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months concerning decisions related to voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, electoral-roll data and other administrative matters.
The findings have fuelled a wider debate over how electoral-roll revisions are being conducted and the safeguards available to voters whose names are removed.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected suggestions of an internal split. Its sources said all decisions, including those concerning SIR, had the approval of all three election commissioners. The commission has also maintained that differences of view, written observations and internal review are normal elements of institutional decision-making.
CJP questions scale of deletions
Dipke claimed that more than 130 million voters had been removed from electoral rolls and argued that such a large-scale change could have significant implications for India's electoral system.
He linked the issue to the relatively narrow political margins seen in the 2024 general election and questioned whether the removal of such a large number of names could affect electoral outcomes.
However, the CJP's interpretation of the political consequences of the deletions remains an allegation by the organisation and has not been independently established as evidence of deliberate manipulation by the Election Commission.
The Election Commission's position is that the SIR process is intended to identify and address issues such as deceased voters, duplicate registrations, shifted voters and other ineligible entries, while providing mechanisms for eligible voters to seek inclusion or restoration.
Claims involving opposition leaders
At the news conference, Dipke also referred to several prominent opposition politicians, including West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
He claimed that tens of thousands of voter names had been removed from electoral areas associated with these leaders and suggested that the changes could have political consequences.
Dipke cited figures of around 51,000 deletions in Mamata Banerjee’s constituency, 100,000 in an area associated with M.K. Stalin and 40,000 in Kejriwal’s constituency.
He argued that the figures should be examined in the context of previous electoral margins.
Those specific claims have not been independently verified in the material available for this report. The broader SIR process, meanwhile, has been the subject of ongoing legal and political scrutiny.
CJP demands halt to SIR and elections
Alongside Kumar’s resignation, the CJP has called for several other measures.
The party is demanding a temporary halt to upcoming elections and the SIR exercise, restoration of the January 2025 electoral-roll position, and an independent investigation into the SIR process.
It has also called for the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners and proposed a new appointment framework involving civil society.
The CJP further wants the Supreme Court to take custody of records relating to the SIR exercise, according to reports of the party's news conference.
The party has warned that failure by Kumar to resign within 48 hours would trigger a nationwide campaign, including protests modelled on its earlier Jantar Mantar demonstration.
Election Commission under scrutiny
The CJP's ultimatum comes as the Election Commission faces renewed scrutiny over the management of electoral rolls and reports of internal objections by two of its members.
While reports have highlighted disagreements recorded by Sandhu and Joshi, the Election Commission has disputed the characterization of these differences as an institutional rift and has said that its decisions were taken unanimously.
The dispute has consequently opened a broader debate over electoral-roll transparency, the protection of voting rights and the internal functioning of India's election administration.
For now, the CJP's 48-hour deadline places additional political pressure on the Election Commission as the controversy surrounding voter-list revisions and the SIR process continues to unfold.
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