India's 'cockroaches' vs Election Commission: What you need to know ahead of CJP's October 10 protests

India's Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has called for a nationwide march on New Delhi on Saturday, after its ultimatum demanding the resignation of the country's election chief was ignored.

In the days leading up to the planned gathering, authorities have been clamping down on protesters gathering at Jantar Mantar, the 18th-century observatory that serves as Delhi's designated protest site. 

These include the general public, student activists and leaders of opposition, including the Indian National Congress' Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urged people to turn out in huge numbers, while adding that the Delhi police were already detaining protesters: "The more people you detain, the more people will show up!"

The stakes remain high: the credibility of the body that runs the world's largest elections is on the line.

What is the controversy about?

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is currently in the hot seat after the Indian Express newspaper published an investigation that revealed that fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised at least 14 formal objections over 10 months to decisions concerning voter registrations, deletions and restorations, as well as control of electoral-roll data.

In one of the objections, Sandhu complained that the Election Commission of India (ECI) acted against the written advice of the two commissioners and claimed its action was "unauthorized and illegal."

Kumar became the chief election commissioner (CEC) in 2025 after being chosen by a selection panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi, who was also a member of the panel, had opposed Kumar's appointment. 

Now, Kumar, along with Sandhu and Joshi, is responsible for overseeing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a nationwide re-verification of the electoral rolls requiring voters to prove their eligibility to remain on them.

The ECI says the process is meant to remove redundancies in India's electoral rolls, including deceased individuals, those who have permanently moved abroad and duplicate entries — as well as avoiding the "inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants."

But critics say it has gone far beyond that remit. 

The Indian Express report says more than 130 million names were removed from electoral rolls across the country. For scale, Germany has about 60 million eligible voters in total.

Who are the 'cockroaches' and what do they want?

A play on the name of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the youth-led movement emerged in May after the chief justice of India, Surya Kant, referred to unemployed young people as "cockroaches" in an offhand remark during an unrelated court hearing.

The move backfired, with young people embracing the tag and turning it into an avenue for disillusionment over what they see as failings in the country's education system and its massive youth unemployment problem.

The CJP has amassed nearly 25 million Instagram followers, more than double that of the BJP's 9.9 million. Modi, however, remains far ahead at 106 million.

A campaign protesting multiple competitive exam leaks launched the CJP into nationwide relevance, securing the resignation of the then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Education minister concedes to 'Cockroach' demands, resigns

Now, the CJP is demanding:

• Kumar's resignation and initiation of criminal proceedings against him
• An immediate hold on upcoming elections, and freezing the SIR
• The repeal of the 2023 law on the appointment of the Election Commissioners of India

Is CJP really leading the protests?

The CJP is not alone in its call for protests. 

For days ahead of the planned October 10 march to Jantar Mantar, student activists, civil society members — including former high-ranking government officials — and leaders of opposition have been taking to the streets of Delhi calling for accountability and Kumar's resignation.

The CJP was joined by representatives of several student associations, including the left-wing All India Students' Association (AISA) and its breakout star Neha Bora, who has been leading protests in the capital all week.

Meanwhile, dramatic scenes emerged from New Delhi as leaders from the opposition INDIA alliance, including the Gandhis, were detained repeatedly by authorities as they took to the streets calling for Kumar's resignation.

Bharatiya Kisan Union spokesperson and farmer rights activist Rakesh Tikait also extended his support to the march and vowed to join on October 10. Tikait was part of the leadership  behind the 2020-2021 farmers' agitation, which forced the Indian government to repeal three laws intended to liberalize the agricultural sector.

The other side

Amid heavy police presence and barricading near the ECI offices in lush central Delhi, the electoral body has rejected any suggestion of a split and Kumar's overreach, maintaining that all decisions, including on the SIR, were unanimous.

It also addressed allegations that opposition parties were not allowed to meet with its officials on Tuesday, saying that till "4.00 pm today, no political party, through its representatives, had sought an appointment for a meeting with the Election Commission."

A day earlier, a delegation of retired senior bureaucrats had also attempted to approach the office of the ECI to submit a charge sheet and impeachment notice against Kumar on behalf of the public, but were unable to reach the premises.

Delhi police said no permission has been given for the October 10 protests, calling it illegal.

"I request everyone to refrain from participating in this protest," Delhi's Deputy Commissioner of Police Shrishti Pandey told news agency ANI.

Some BJP politicians had previously referred to the CJP as a "cross-border influence operation" aimed at destabilizing India, with federal minister Kiren Rijiju accusing them of seeking social media followers ⁠from archenemy Pakistan and the "anti-India gang."

What to watch for on October 10

New Delhi has been turned into a fortress, with the government deploying close to 43,000 security personnel ahead of the protests, local media reported. 

Several independent journalists and others associated with the last round of CJP protests have claimed that authorities have been using intimidation tactics to keep them from joining the march. 

Among those arrested is CJP national spokesperson Deepak Baliyan, who was taken into police custody on Thursday, but released hours later.

In the last round of CJP protests, the police had used tear gas, sticks and pellet-firing shotguns to subdue the demonstrators.