CJP Backs INDIA Bloc's November 1 Rally After Months Of Distance From Congress

Signalling that the protests over alleged electoral fraud are converging into one movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Wednesday extended its support to the Congress-led INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan and repeated its demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

"Nation above all!" CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke posted on X, sharing a statement from the youth-led outfit. It was not immediately clear if he or others from the CJP would be on the stage or attend at all. The statement said, "The fundamental principle of democracy is that people get to choose their government, not that the government gets to choose its voters."

It added, "By undermining this very principle through SIR, Gyanesh Kumar has lost the trust required to oversee free and fair elections. His resignation is therefore necessary to restore the credibility and independence of the Election Commission." The CJP thus said it would "support all organisations fighting for free and fair elections in our country".

READ | 20 Markets, 20 Traders, 20 Minutes: Delhi Trade Body's Offer To Rahul Gandhi

The endorsement follows weeks in which the CJP and the Congress ran parallel campaigns against Gynesh Kumar; and before that, protests in June-July over paper leaks. The Congress decided not to take part in the CJP's October 10 protest in Delhi, citing its own nationwide agitation, while the Trinamool Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) backed the CJP. The Aam Aadmi Party and the DMK have also backed the CJP, amid their frosty relations with the Congress-led INDIA bloc. Dipke worked with AAP's social media and campaign operations between 2020 and 2023.

We extend our support to the INDIA Bloc's November 1 protest rally. Justice and accountability must prevail! #GyaneshMustGo

— Saurav Das (@SauravDassss) October 28, 2026

Dipke had maintained that the CJP would stay outside party politics, but was not against the INDIA bloc because both agitations shared a common cause. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has also used the phrase "all protests are one" in recent statements.

READ | 'Whose Peace?' How A 1361 English Law Lives On In Delhi's 'Bond' Cases: NDTV Explains

Rahul Gandhi was learnt to have invited Dipke to a high tea with INDIA bloc leaders and civil society groups, though he did not attend. Gandhi also criticised the arrest of CJP leaders by Delhi Police. Those arrests came after CJP leaders Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka and Ajinkya Shinde were held for trying to enter Jantar Mantar after it was denotified as a protest site. Das and Ranka were released from Tihar after seven days, once they gave a Special Executive Magistrate written undertaking not to call protests at Jantar Mantar until the site is denotified in accordance with law.

AISA chief Neha Bora has been a bridge between the parallel protests.

READ | 'Where Is Neha Bora Today?' AISA Chief A Running Motif As Delhi Protests Go Hybrid

Ramlila Maidan, the venue of Saturday's rally, is one of three grounds the Delhi Police named for large demonstrations after Jantar Mantar was denotified.

Congress MP Jebi Mather has said the rally was a joint decision taken after consultations with INDIA bloc parties, and that there were no differences within the Opposition over the demand for the CEC's resignation.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has asked party MPs to stay in Delhi from October 30 to November 1. The Delhi Police has granted a no-objection certificate for the rally, with conditions, for a programme between 10 am and 5 pm.

READ | 'Vote Chori' vs 'Regime Loot': How BJP's Counter-Offensive Is Taking Shape

The BJP has objected to the date. BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad alleged that Rahul Gandhi was insisting on November 1 "to hurt the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots", and claimed several INDIA bloc constituents wanted the rally rescheduled. Rahul Gandhi responded on X with a "thank you" to the BJP and its allies for publicising the rally.

The latest agitation began after a September 23 media report that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times in 10 months to SIR decisions taken through the CEC. The Election Commission has maintained that its SIR decisions were lawful and unanimous.

Dipke founded the CJP on May 16 as a satirical outfit after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant's remarks during a May 15 hearing were read as likening unemployed youth to cockroaches; the CJI later clarified he meant people using fake degrees. The pressure group has since been successful in having the education minister changed in July. It has now been agitating against alleged electoral fraud, an issue being raised by Rahul Gandhi for two years now.