India’s Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his resignation and warning of nationwide protests if he fails to step down. Speaking at a press conference in Delhi, CJP founder Abhijeet Deepke gave Kumar 48 hours to resign, warning that the party would launch a nationwide agitation if the demand is not met. Deepke said a fresh demonstration at Jantar Mantar, modeled on the party’s earlier protest there, would definitely take place if Kumar refuses to resign.
The ultimatum follows a report by The Indian Express detailing internal dissent within the Election Commission. The report revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions on voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, and management of electoral-roll systems. According to another account, these objections were registered between October 28, 2025, and August 14, 2026, with copies sent to Kumar, though no action was reportedly taken. The Election Commission of India has responded that differences among officials are normal in any institution and maintained that all its actions were legal.
CJP has put forward a broader set of demands beyond Kumar’s resignation. These include initiating criminal proceedings against Kumar, rolling back the pre-Special Intensive Revision (SIR) voter list from January 2025, and repealing the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners. Deepke argued that more than 13 crore votes had been deleted, calling it a significant figure given that the 2024 Lok Sabha election was decided by a margin of just 2 percent between the ruling alliance and the opposition.
Deepke leveled pointed accusations against the CEC personally during the press conference. He described Kumar as “the biggest anti-national” in the country and said he posed a serious threat that warranted immediate removal from office. Deepke further alleged that Kumar’s tenure had benefited the ruling BJP electorally, pointing to changes in the party’s vote share across states, and called him the “real hero” behind BJP’s election wins — a claim that does not establish any causal link and which the Election Commission has not accepted, maintaining its decisions follow the constitutional and legal framework.
This is not CJP’s first high-profile campaign. The youth-led group previously held a protest over an alleged NEET paper leak at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, which was followed by the resignation of then-Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in July 2026. Originally launched as a satirical online campaign in May, the movement has since grown into an organized political pressure group willing to escalate against senior officials. The allegations against Gyanesh Kumar remain CJP’s claims at this stage and have not been independently established as fact.