Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday vowed to continue his campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, taking his protest from the national capital to Kochi in what organisers described as the movement's first major public demonstration in South India.
Dipke made the remarks after arriving at Cochin International Airport to attend the party's 'Jantar Mantar at Kochi' protest against the revision exercise and the Chief Election Commissioner. Speaking to reporters at the airport, he said his party would continue its agitation until an independent and impartial electoral system was ensured in the country. "The fight against Gyanesh Kumar will continue until we get an independent and impartial election system in India," he said.
The protest, held on Saturday, November 7, drew hundreds of young people, civil rights activists and ordinary citizens to the streets of Kochi. A march led by actor-activist Prakash Raj began at Marine Drive in the afternoon and proceeded to Rajendra Maidan, where a public meeting was held. Organisers said around 500 activists took part in the march. Democratic Youth Federation of India state president Chintha Jerome also joined the demonstration.
The protesters demanded the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls and the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner. Their placards and slogans carried the twin demands that have become the signature of the campaign: "Remove Gyanesh Kumar" and "Cancel SIR". In a post on social media, the party raised the slogan "Gyanesh Kumar Must Go" as the Kochi programme got under way.
Dipke arrived in Kochi in the afternoon after his flight was delayed, landing at Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery at around 3.30 pm before heading straight to the venue to address the gathering. He said he was attending the protest at the invitation of the organisers and actor Prakash Raj, describing it as a people's movement rather than a party programme.
Speaking to the media at the airport, Dipke alleged that elections conducted under the present Chief Election Commissioner could not be trusted. He claimed that more than 13 crore voters had been deleted from electoral rolls across the country during the revision exercise, accounting for 13 to 14 per cent of the registered electorate. These figures were his allegations, and they could not be independently verified from the details available.
The Election Commission, for its part, has maintained that the revision exercise is aimed at ensuring accurate and credible electoral rolls while ensuring that eligible citizens are not excluded.
Dipke also used the Kochi platform to make a broader political prediction. Addressing the gathering at Rajendra Maidan, he predicted that the Modi government would be voted out of power in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, and urged citizens to prepare for a change of government at the Centre. He repeatedly asked the crowd whether Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lose power in 2029, drawing cheers from those present.
He said a change of government would come only through elections, and reiterated his demand for an independent and impartial electoral system.
"If Gyanesh Kumar goes, Narendra Modi will also go," Dipke told the gathering, arguing that the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner was necessary to ensure a fair electoral process. He alleged that the government was suppressing dissent, comparing its actions to British rule, and claimed he had been arrested for carrying the national flag. "I will carry the national flag in every part of the country, even if arrested," he said during the protest.
The Kochi demonstration marked a significant expansion of a campaign that had so far been concentrated in Delhi. The Cockroach Janata Party, a political outfit that has positioned itself as a civil liberties and electoral reform movement, had announced the protest on November 5 with the message "Save Democracy! Cancel SIR!"
Dipke, national secretary Aafreen Nawaz and south zone lead Vijay Mallangi were listed among the leaders expected to attend the Kochi demonstration, which was scheduled to begin at Rajendra Maidan at 4 pm.
The protest follows the detention and arrest of party leaders during demonstrations in Delhi last month. Dipke, along with party leaders Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, was detained by Delhi Police while attempting to organise a demonstration against the Chief Election Commissioner and the revision exercise at Jantar Mantar in the capital. The Kochi event was presented by the party as the next stage of the same agitation, carried from the north to the south of the country.
The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has drawn criticism from several opposition groups and civil society organisations, who allege that the exercise disproportionately removes valid voters from the rolls. The Election Commission has defended the process, saying it is designed to clean up the rolls and remove ineligible entries while protecting the voting rights of genuine electors.
The dispute over the revision has become one of the most contentious issues in Indian politics in recent months, with opposition parties raising it in Parliament and in state after state.
Dipke also commented on the appointment of the former Kerala Chief Electoral Officer as secretary to the Kerala Chief Minister, saying such appointments raised concerns about the impartiality of the electoral system. The remark reflected the broader thrust of his campaign: that the institutions responsible for conducting elections must be seen to be independent of the governments of the day.
The presence of Prakash Raj, a well-known actor who has become a vocal critic of the central government, gave the Kochi protest a high profile. Raj led the march from Marine Drive and addressed the gathering, lending his support to the demand for the cancellation of the revision exercise. Writer Zacharia was among the other prominent figures seen at the protest, underlining the support the campaign has drawn from Kerala's cultural and civil society circles.
The Kochi protest also highlighted the way in which the debate over electoral rolls has moved beyond Delhi and into the states. Kerala, with its history of high political participation and intense electoral competition, provided a receptive audience for a campaign built around voting rights. The organisers said the turnout, which included large numbers of young people, showed that concerns about the integrity of the electoral process resonated well beyond the capital.
Whether the campaign can sustain its momentum remains to be seen. The Cockroach Janata Party is a small outfit, and its ability to keep the issue in the public eye will depend on whether larger opposition parties and civil society groups take up the cause in a sustained way. But the Kochi demonstration showed that the protest has found an audience outside Delhi, and that its central demand, the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner, continues to draw crowds.
For now, Dipke has made his position clear. The agitation, he says, will continue until an independent and impartial electoral system is established in the country. The Kochi protest was, in his words, not the end of the campaign but its expansion, and the party intends to carry it to other parts of the country in the weeks ahead.
(Reporting based on The Times of India and Onmanorama.)