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India's 'cockroach' party to protest from Oct 2 if poll chief doesn't quit by Sept 26
The Election Commission of India said that differences were normal in any institution and that all its actions were legal
- PUBLISHED: Thu 24 Sept 2026, 1:32 PM UPDATED: Fri 25 Sept 2026, 10:23 AM
India's 'cockroach' youth movement will launch nationwide protests on October 2 if the country's chief election officer, Gyanesh Kumar, does not resign by Saturday, founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Friday.
Opposition groups and the self-named 'Cockroach Janta Party' have demanded Kumar's resignation after a newspaper report said his deputies had questioned him over changes to voter lists that opposition groups say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party.
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"If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign by tomorrow, CJP will begin its nationwide protest from Mumbai on 2 October, and take it to cities across India," Dipke said in a post on X.
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CJP on Thursday demanded that Kumar quit within 48 hours.
The Election Commission of India said that differences among officers were normal in any institution and that all its actions were lawful.
Opposition parties have said the lists have been manipulated to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
On Wednesday, the Indian Express newspaper said two election commissioners had raised questions or expressed concern at least 14 times in 10 months — mostly in connection with the process of updating voter lists that began last year — with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The report sparked a political furore, with opposition parties launching a fresh attack on the election commission that they have accused of being biased. The panel has denied these claims.
On Thursday, the main opposition Congress Party announced protest marches on all state election offices across India on Friday, demanding Kumar's arrest, his removal from office and an independent review of all decisions and voter-list changes made under him.
The Election Commission of India has said that differences between election commissioners were normal for any institution and that all its actions were lawful. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.
"If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign within 48 hours, the Cockroach Janta Party will start a nationwide agitation ... we will not back down without Gyanesh Kumar's resignation," said Abhijeet Dipke, who founded the self-named movement, at a press conference.
Differences are normal, poll panel says
The Cockroach Janta Party is fresh off its successful youth demonstrations in July, which led to the resignation of Modi's education minister over exam-paper leaks - one of Modi's biggest political setbacks since he came to power in 2014.
"Differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution," the panel said in a statement on Wednesday following the newspaper report. "They are a part of the decision-making process before a final decision is taken."
Kumar is one of three election commissioners and is the chief as he is the most senior.
Election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi - who the newspaper said had questioned and differed with Kumar - did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Opposition parties have criticised the conduct of the panel in recent years, alleging that names of millions of voters were deleted without warning and that new voters were added without verification to favour the BJP.
The BJP has defended the poll panel and said opposition parties had launched a smear campaign because they were regularly losing elections.
"Neither the Election Commission of India nor any constitutional body in India is under dictatorial rule ... they are functioning democratically," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said at a media briefing on Wednesday.