Shivaji Park erupts in ‘Gyanu must go’ chants as CJP demands CEC’s exit

• Thousands of young protesters gather at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park despite police denying permission for CJP demonstration demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.

• Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Vishal Bhardwaj, Vishal Dadlani and Tushar Gandhi join student groups and activists at Gandhi Jayanti protest.

• CJP is targeting Kumar over the SIR and reported objections by two election commissioners; ECI says all decisions were taken unanimously.

A wall of police barricades and punishing heat failed to dampen the mood at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday, 2 October, as thousands of young protesters gathered for the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) ‘jail bharo andolan’, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Despite Mumbai Police denying permission for the gathering, wave upon wave of protesters made their way to the iconic ground, carrying tricolours, placards, satirical memes and film dialogues aimed at Kumar. The protest, held on Gandhi Jayanti, quickly took on a carnival-like character, with revolutionary slogans, Gandhian quotations, music and unconventional props accompanying the political demands.

The gathering also drew a string of prominent public figures. Veteran actor couple Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, singer and music director Vishal Dadlani and Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson Tushar Gandhi were among those who joined the protesters.

Student groups including the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students’ Federation (AISF) were also present. AISF activists from Pune added a musical element to the protest, playing instruments as demonstrators raised slogans including ‘chale jao’, ‘vapas do’ and ‘bandh karo’.

Placards ranged from the pointed to the irreverent, including 'Gyanu, tujha democracy var vharosa nay kaye?', 'Gyanesh BRO, JUST RESIGN' and 'gaddaar Gyanu must go'. One protester, Manish Mandal from Sion, wore jewellery fashioned from ‘Melody’ chocolate wrappers while holding a banner referring to Kumar as ‘fraud detergent powder’.

The symbolism was more solemn at the protest stage, where quotations on non-violence and simplicity were displayed alongside references to B.R. Ambedkar. Shabana Azmi, addressing the gathering, said the right to vote was also the right to protest when voters’ names were removed from electoral rolls.

The protest had been scheduled for 4.00 pm, but CJP activists and other demonstrators began gathering near the entry points from early afternoon. Police erected barricades around the ground and restricted vehicular movement near Sena Bhavan, while the Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force deployed additional personnel at Dadar station to prevent disruption to commuters.

The police had cited restrictions arising from a 2013 Bombay High Court order governing gatherings at Shivaji Park and described the area as a silence zone. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke nevertheless insisted that the protest would go ahead. He had also challenged Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to arrest those taking part in the agitation.

Fadnavis, meanwhile, rejected the allegations against the ECI, calling them a "fake narrative" and saying the three election commissioners had already addressed the issue.

There was also a counter-protest by a group calling itself Gen Next Mumbai, which opposed the CJP’s agitation and its campaign against Kumar.

The CJP’s protest was triggered by recent reports that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders relating to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Some of the objections stated that decisions had been issued without their knowledge.

The reports have fuelled questions over the functioning of the three-member poll panel and the handling of the electoral-roll revision. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that all decisions, including those relating to the SIR, were taken unanimously.

The CJP has demanded Kumar’s resignation, a freeze on the 2025 electoral roll and greater transparency in the appointment of the chief election commissioner. It has also called for the restoration of earlier voter lists and raised broader concerns over alleged deletion of voters from the rolls.

The Mumbai protest marks the launch of the CJP’s latest phase of agitation, with the organisation saying it plans to take the campaign to other cities. The CJP has stressed that its mobilisation is independent of the Opposition-led protests planned against the Election Commission, including the ‘Save Democracy Week’ campaign.