CJP to Campaign on Election Commission Reforms After Dissent Over SIR

The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) said on Wednesday that it will take up the issue of reforms in the Election Commission, arguing that its campaigns on schools, tribal education and other subjects would achieve little if the right to vote were compromised.

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced the shift in a post on X, writing "Election Commission Thik Karo" and confirming a press conference in Delhi. The party has cancelled its programmes scheduled for Thursday and said its leadership will address the media at noon on the "Hijacking of India's Democracy".

The announcement followed reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders of the poll panel. The objections reportedly covered the addition, deletion and restoration of voters as well as changes to the voter registration process during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

CJP chief spokesperson Saurav Das said the party could keep running campaigns on schools, unemployment, infrastructure and examination irregularities, but these would serve little purpose if people were unable to exercise their franchise. "We can do as many School Theek Karos, we can do as many Adivasi School Theek Karos... but nothing is going to help if our final tool that we can use to change our system, the right to vote, is stolen from us," he said in a video statement.

Das alleged that the Election Commission of India was "compromised" and accused it of "stealing our votes". He described elections as the fundamental instrument of change, asking how anything would change if the process were taken away from the younger generation and others. The party, he said, would therefore press for greater scrutiny of the poll panel's functioning and for protection of the right to vote.

In response to the reports, Election Commission officials said the two commissioners had flagged decisions taken during the electoral roll cleanup and the handling of the voter database in various states. Sources in the poll body maintained that all its decisions, including those relating to the SIR, were unanimous and had the approval of both the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner.

The developments have drawn the Opposition into the fray, with parties demanding that the SIR be scrapped and seeking the impeachment and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.