Election Roll Manipulation: Cockroach Party Announces Nationwide Protest and Jail Bharo Movement; Troops Deployed in Delhi
Mian Nadeem | Published October 02, 2026 | 10:15 PM
Thousands, including acclaimed actors Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah and singer Vishal Dadlani, attended the protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.
MUMBAI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Oct, 2026) Thousands of people, including renowned actress Shabana Azmi, actor Naseeruddin Shah, and singer-composer Vishal Dadlani, participated in a protest against the
Election Commission
at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.
The protest, organized by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) amid allegations of manipulation in
Indian
voter lists, demanded the resignation of
Chief Election Commissioner
Gyanesh Kumar. Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah was seen at the protest with CJP founder Abhijit Dipke, and the two also hugged each other. In a video shared by Dipke, Naseeruddin Shah thanked him. Vishal Dadlani later arrived at the protest and embraced Abhijit Dipke.
During the demonstration, actress Shabana Azmi said that protesting is people’s right and that they should protest when their
Names
are removed from electoral rolls.
Despite the police refusing permission for the protest, large numbers of people reached Shivaji Park. Workers from the Students’ Federation of
India
(SFI) and the All India Students’ Federation (AISF) also participated in the demonstration. The CJP announced that it would launch a “fill the jails” movement from today, following which police and paramilitary forces were deployed at Jantar Mantar.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been accused of deleting the names of approximately 130 million voters from 30 states and union territories during the “Special Intensive Revision” of electoral rolls. An Indian newspaper reported that the other two election commissioners had raised written objections 14 times during internal Election Commission meetings over decisions concerning voter lists, which the Chief Election Commissioner allegedly ignored. The Indian Election Commission, meanwhile, has denied all these allegations.