CJP Demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s Resignation in 48 Hours, Warns of Nationwide Protests

Nationwide protests looming? CJP's resignation demand to CEC explained

September 24, 2026

Amid a row over Election Commission dissent, CJP has issued a 48-hour resignation ultimatum to CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Demand follows Indian Express report on 14 formal objections raised by two election commissioners over 10 months

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours, warning of a nationwide agitation and indefinite sit-in protests if he does not step down.

At a press conference in New Delhi, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke said the party would launch protests across the country, including a sit-in in Delhi, and would not relent until Kumar resigns. Dipke said the real force behind the BJP’s electoral victories is CEC Kumar, alleging that BJP vote shares in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Assam and other states had increased since Kumar’s appointment. He also called Kumar “the biggest anti-national” in the country and said he should resign immediately because he is the biggest threat to India’s democracy.

Trigger: The Indian Express investigation

The demand follows Wednesday’s Indian Express investigation reporting that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders related to voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, and the management of electoral-roll systems.

Allegations over centralised electoral roll system

CJP co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, alongside Dipke, alleged that the centralisation of electoral-roll functions has created a system in which a voter can be found eligible by a constituency-level Electoral Registration Officer but still remain outside the final roll because the decision cannot be recorded centrally. Dipke separately claimed that more than 13 crore votes had been deleted, amounting to around 13-14 per cent of the total votes, and questioned whether the deletions were intended to widen the narrow 2 per cent margin between the opposition and the ruling party from the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

CJP’s demands

The party laid out a detailed set of demands, calling for Kumar’s resignation and criminal proceedings against him, along with disclosure of who authorised the disputed decisions. It also sought an immediate freeze on the Special Intensive Revision and upcoming polls, restoration of the January 2025 voter roll, and an independent inquiry into SIR decision-making. The party further demanded repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners and the enactment of a new framework involving civil society.

Co-convener Ashutosh Ranka additionally urged the Supreme Court to secure files relating to SIR decisions, citing concern that they could be destroyed, and called for SIR-related files to be placed under the custody of a Supreme Court-led committee. The party also urged political parties not to contest elections while simultaneously alleging that the electoral process was being manipulated.

Part of a longer-running standoff

This is not the first attempt to challenge Kumar’s position. In April 2026, opposition MPs submitted notices in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seeking his removal over allegations of partisan conduct, but the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Lok Sabha Speaker rejected the notices after what they described as a careful and objective assessment of the issues involved. Opposition parties have separately protested in Parliament against the SIR process, alleging it was designed to disenfranchise voters.

Neither the Election Commission nor Gyanesh Kumar had issued a public response to CJP’s latest ultimatum as of Thursday afternoon.

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