Indian protesters demand election chief Gyanesh Kumar resign

On Oct 4, protests in Delhi and Mumbai continued for a third day, with participants calling for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down over claimed misconduct in the voter-roll revision. Police took demonstrators into custody near Delhi's Jantar Mantar, and officials began examining claims that officers sexually harassed people during the protests.⁵⁶

From education protests to electoral reform

The campaign is being led by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, a Gen Z-led pressure group that began as an online satirical movement in May before organising repeated street demonstrations. Its activism initially focused on education reform and included a school-audit campaign. A July 20 protest preceded the resignation of then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan later that month.¹⁴

The group has since made electoral accountability its principal campaign. The group is seeking Kumar's removal from office and his prosecution, an end to the Special Intensive Revision and a pause in upcoming elections, as well as repeal of a 2023 measure that Deutsche Welle says gave the government greater influence over choosing the commission's head.¹⁴

Dispute over 130 million names

The Special Intensive Revision is intended to identify duplicate entries and people who are not eligible to remain on electoral rolls. The exercise has so far removed 130 million names. Activists and opposition groups contend that numerous eligible voters were removed and that Kumar ran the exercise in a way that favoured the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.¹²

The BJP and Election Commission have rejected allegations of voter-list manipulation or collusion. The BJP says the names removed largely belong to deceased voters and people it describes as illegal infiltrators. Critics, by contrast, argue that minority voters account for a substantial share of the deletions; that claim has not been independently established in the dossier.¹²

Questions about decision-making inside the commission intensified after an Indian Express investigation, reported by Deutsche Welle, alleged that some important revision decisions were probably taken without approval from two of the three election commissioners. Reports said commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning registrations, deletions, restorations, appeals and control of electoral-roll data.¹²

Sandhu said the commission had acted contrary to written advice from two commissioners. The Election Commission responded that the reporting presented only part of the picture, that differences of opinion were a normal part of its deliberations and that its final decisions were unanimous.¹²

Detentions and a police investigation

Thousands assembled at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Oct 2 for the second phase of the CJP campaign, despite police denying permission for the event, according to reports. In Delhi, police also refused permission for a gathering and imposed restrictions in the centre of the city. According to Deutsche Welle, police detained over 700 people that day, among them Atishi, Delhi's former chief minister.¹⁷

By Oct 4, thousands had marched in Mumbai and police had detained scores of protesters around Jantar Mantar in Delhi. A few dozen activists also gathered outside a police station seeking action over allegations against officers. Delhi Police said three female journalists had made sexual-harassment allegations, and the force launched an investigation.⁵⁶

Political pressure and planned action

Opposition figures have joined the pressure on the commission. Rahul Gandhi accused it of taking votes from opposition parties, while Mamata Banerjee demanded Kumar's arrest. In Mumbai, Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray led protests seeking both the cancellation of the roll revision and Kumar's resignation. Opposition politicians also announced a march to the Election Commission and later nationwide rallies under a Save Democracy banner.²⁵⁶

The CJP has said it will continue mobilising if Kumar remains in office. Founder Abhijeet Dipke announced a protest at Jantar Mantar on Oct 10 and threatened a broader march to Delhi involving supporters from across India. The group says its campaign will remain nonviolent.¹⁷