Gen Z-Led Cockroach Party Protesters Demand Election Chief’s Resignation Over Voter Roll Changes

MUMBAI/DELHI — Hundreds of supporters of the Gen Z-led Cockroach Janta Party protested in Mumbai on Friday, launching a nationwide campaign against voter roll changes they say benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governing party.

The demonstration is the latest in a series of youth-led protests this year, exerting unprecedented pressure on Modi during his 12 years in power.

Critics say a nationwide voter-verification exercise launched last year has led to millions of eligible voters being removed from electoral rolls.

The Election Commission, long regarded as one of the country’s most trusted institutions, says the exercise is intended to remove duplicate, deceased, or ineligible voters. Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar, at the center of the criticism, has not commented.

In Mumbai, hundreds of CJP supporters waved Indian flags and shouted “Gyanu it’s done bro.” Some carried placards reading “THE JANTA HAS A SPINE, GYANU MUST RESIGN.”

PARTY LISTS CITIES IT WILL TARGET THIS MONTH

Led by Abhijeet Dipke, the CJP adopted its name after India’s chief justice called unemployed youth and online activists “cockroaches.” The party gained national prominence earlier this year by spearheading mass protests over exam paper leaks, which led to the resignation of India’s education minister.

Pressure on Kumar intensified last month after the Indian Express reported that the election chief’s two deputies had formally raised concerns at least 14 times over the past 10 months regarding voter-list revisions, registration procedures, and the commission’s digital systems.

The Election Commission said differing views are normal in internal deliberations.

CJP spokesperson Saurav Das told Reuters that protests will continue until Kumar resigns.

“We will protest for a few hours today. Apart from Mumbai, we will hold protests in Goa, Kolkata, and Bangalore throughout this month,” he said.

However, in Delhi, police prevented a separate group of student protesters from gathering, bundling them into buses and taking them away. Several nearby metro stations remained shut, and security was tightened.

Earlier in the day, as police pushed protester Rishabh Singh onto a bus, he said, “The right to protest is our fundamental right, and we want answers from the government on vote theft.”

ELECTION COMMISSION LAUNCHES REVIEW OF VOTER ROLLS

Protesters and opposition parties allege that the commission manipulated voter rolls in ways that favor Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party. The commission and the government have denied the allegations.

On Wednesday, the INDIA alliance — an opposition grouping of more than two dozen parties led by Congress — said it would begin protests demanding Kumar’s resignation on October 6. Opposition lawmakers plan to march to the Election Commission office in Delhi.

In a move aimed at easing tensions, the election commission directed officials on Friday to register newly eligible voters and those omitted from rolls.

The CJP, a youth movement that emerged earlier this year from online frustration over unemployment and leaked examination papers, has become an unexpected political force.

“Now that Modi has been in power for over 12 years, new challenges are coming from different sections of society, which makes it hard for him to box them as anti-national forces,” political analyst Rasheed Kidwai said.

He added that a section of the country’s youth is challenging his credibility and has an impact on 40 percent of the population.

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