Thousands protest in Mumbai, demand Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation
Thousands demonstrated outside Mumbai’s Shivaji Park against alleged electoral-roll irregularities and the Election Commission’s special intensive revision exercise. Organised by the Cockroach Janta Party, the protest called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and restoration of an earlier voters’ list.
Thousands of people demonstrated outside Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the Election Commission’s special intensive revision exercise. The protest was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party on Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. Police permission had not been granted, but demonstrators gathered outside the park gates in Dadar with national flags.
The protesters demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a halt to the revision process and restoration of the January 2025 voters’ list. They also called for repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners and its replacement with a more transparent mechanism. CJP conveners Abhijeet Dipke, Ashutosh Ranka and others addressed the gathering.
Actor Shabana Azmi, singer Vishal Dadlani and NCP leader Anish Gawande were also reported to have attended. A senior police official estimated the inflow of protesters at 4,000 to 5,000 and said about 800 police personnel, including riot-control units, had been deployed. Speakers accused the Election Commission’s process of affecting marginalised people, although those claims were not independently established in the supplied report.
The Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner were not quoted responding to the protest. The demonstration was presented by organisers as part of a campaign over voting rights and the conduct of the electoral-roll revision.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.