India’s Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), initially a satirical movement, is now gaining political traction among Gen Z as it faces mass detentions ahead of a major anti-government protest in Delhi. The opposition, alongside student groups and the CJP, has been organizing nearly daily protests, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar due to controversial revisions of voter lists.
Thousands plan to march to Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Saturday, amid growing discontent in the world’s largest democracy. Ashutosh Ranka, a CJP spokesperson, reported on X that at least 10,000 individuals, including CJP members, student organizations, and political parties, have been detained across the country. Police have not yet responded to inquiries about these detentions, though videos on X depict activists being taken away in vans.
Among those detained are students from Pune, who were en route to the 10 October protest in Delhi, now taken to an unknown location. The nationwide voter list review, known as the special intensive revision, has resulted in over 130 million name removals across most Indian states and territories, exceeding the populations of Japan and Mexico. Many have appealed against these deletions.
Opposition parties claim the removals disproportionately affect their supporters, while those likely to back Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party remain unaffected or are added to the lists. The election commission and government maintain that the revisions aim to eliminate duplicates and ineligible entries.
The "Cockroach" movement, which began as an online campaign in May, has organized street protests nationwide, presenting a significant political challenge to Modi midway through his third term. This follows earlier demonstrations that led to the resignation of his education minister over exam paper leaks.
In Bengaluru, a tech hub, CJP supporters protested on Thursday, holding signs like “Every name counts, Every vote matters” and “Stop the Murder of Democracy.” Khushi Shrivastava, a 22-year-old architecture student, emphasized the importance of voting rights, stating, “People who actually want to vote, who actually care about the future of India, they are just being (denied) voting rights.”
Protests also addressed police actions against Congress party leaders and the voter list revisions. On Wednesday, the opposition Congress accused police of using “brute force” to detain leader Rahul Gandhi, his sister Priyanka Vadra, and other lawmakers near the Jantar Mantar protest site. Delhi Police denied these claims, while BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia dismissed them as unfounded accusations by an irresponsible opposition. Ahead of Saturday’s planned demonstrations, police have fortified the area in Delhi.
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