Cockroach Janta Party Demands Election Reforms Amid Dispute in Election Commission

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday indicated that the outfit will take up the issue of reforms in the Election Commission as a major row over differences within the poll panel spilled into the open, with two election commissioners repeatedly dissenting over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The CJP, which has been campaigning on issues such as school infrastructure and tribal education, said such efforts would not bring any change if people’s right to vote was compromised, asserting that protecting elections was key to addressing other problems facing the country. "Election Commission Thik Karo! Important PC tomorrow in Delhi. Gyanesh, it's done bro," Dipke said on X. The CJP has cancelled its programmes scheduled for Thursday and said its leadership would address a press conference in Delhi on the "Hijacking of India's Democracy" at noon. Alleging that the Election Commission was "stealing our votes", CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said, "Nothing is going to work because the Election Commission of India is compromised." Das said the CJP could continue its campaigns on schools, unemployment, infrastructure and examination irregularities, but these would ultimately serve little purpose if people are unable to exercise their right to vote and change the system through elections.