Thousands gather at Shivaji Park for CJP protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

• Thousands gather at Shivaji Park despite Mumbai Police denying permission for CJP protest demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

• Naseeruddin Shah among those present, while Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS extend support to the agitation.

• CJP campaign follows reports of objections by two election commissioners over decisions linked to SIR; EC says all decisions were unanimous.

Thousands of people gathered at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on the afternoon of Friday, 2 October for a protest organised by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Election Commission’s handling of the revision of electoral rolls.

Despite Mumbai Police denying permission for the demonstration, youths carrying placards and the tricolour turned up in large numbers at the iconic central Mumbai ground, traditionally a venue for major political rallies. The protest, billed by the CJP as a ‘Jail Bharo Andolan’, was scheduled to begin after 4.00 pm.

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah was among those present at the protest venue. His presence came after he met CJP convenor Abhijeet Dipke earlier in the day.

Police and other security forces were deployed in large numbers around Shivaji Park, while major entry points to the ground were barricaded. Security was also stepped up around Dadar railway station, with police and railway authorities deploying personnel ahead of the demonstration. Police officials said they were closely monitoring the situation to maintain law and order and ensure traffic movement in the area remained unaffected.

Some residents of the Dadar-Shivaji Park area voiced opposition to the protest, saying it could disrupt daily life and disturb peace in the neighbourhood.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) have extended support to the CJP’s agitation. Shivaji Park is considered a politically significant ground in Maharashtra and has historically been associated with major rallies by both the Shiv Sena and MNS.

Earlier in the day, Dipke paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in south Mumbai on Gandhi Jayanti before heading to the protest venue.

The CJP has demanded greater transparency in the appointment of the CEC and called for the 2025 voter list to be frozen, arguing that it should not be "tampered with further". It has also sought Kumar’s resignation and an inquiry into the functioning of the Election Commission.

The immediate trigger for the protest was an Indian Express investigation that reported that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period to decisions and orders relating to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. According to the report, some of the objections stated that decisions had been issued without their knowledge.

The CJP has used the reported differences within the three-member poll panel to question the transparency and functioning of the Election Commission and has demanded Kumar’s resignation. The party has said the Mumbai protest will be the beginning of a wider agitation, with further protests planned in other cities before a proposed culmination in Delhi.

The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion of a division within the poll panel, insisting that all three commissioners took decisions, including those concerning the SIR, unanimously.

The choice of Mumbai for the launch of the agitation is also linked to the CJP’s questions over the sharp change in the state’s electoral results between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections later that year. Dipke has said the organisation wants the Election Commission to answer questions about the electoral process, while stressing that the CJP is not affiliated to any political party.

With PTI inputs