A major protest organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and civil society groups took place at Bengaluru’s Freedom Park on October 8, with demonstrators demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Reports described a sizeable turnout, with estimates varying across outlets.
Dhruv Rathee and Prakash Raj Join Demonstration
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke led the protest alongside actor-activist Prakash Raj and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. Students, women, activists and civil society members also attended the gathering.
Protesters held placards and raised slogans calling for the scrapping of SIR and demanding accountability from the Election Commission.
Dispute Over Voter List Revision
The demonstration focused on alleged irregularities in the voter-list revision process. Protesters claimed that eligible voters had been removed from electoral rolls and called for the restoration of names deleted during the exercise.
CJP and other participants demanded that the Election Commission withdraw the SIR process and that Gyanesh Kumar step down. These are allegations and demands made by the protesters; they do not, by themselves, establish wrongdoing by the Commission.
Turnout Reports Describe a Large Crowd
While the event was described as a major mobilisation, reports differed in how they characterised the crowd. The Federal reported that more than 2,000 people attended, while other coverage described thousands gathering at Freedom Park.
The available reports therefore point to a substantial turnout, rather than a small or sparsely attended protest.
Organisers Signal Further Protests
The Bengaluru gathering included a “people’s tribunal,” where people who said they had been affected by voter-list deletions shared their experiences. Organisers also held a separate protest focused on women’s safety and indicated that demonstrations would continue, including a planned mobilisation in New Delhi on October 10.
The Freedom Park protest has brought the dispute over voter-list revision into the streets, with CJP and allied groups demanding changes while the Election Commission’s process remains at the centre of political debate.