Friday, October 2, 2026 - India’s youth-led “Cockroach” movement is back on the streets, with protesters launching fresh demonstrations in Mumbai on Friday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The Cockroach Janata Party says the protests will expand to other parts of the country, putting the Election Commission under renewed public pressure over controversial revisions to voter lists.
At the centre of the dispute is the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Opposition parties and activists allege that the process has excluded millions of voters and could undermine access to the ballot, while the Election Commission says the exercise is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries and insists its actions are lawful.
The controversy has intensified after reports that two election commissioners raised concerns about aspects of voter-roll revisions and related procedures; the commission has described such differences as part of normal institutional deliberations.
The renewed protests could keep electoral integrity at the centre of India’s political debate in the weeks ahead. The Cockroach movement, led by Abhijeet Dipke, has announced plans to take its campaign beyond Mumbai, while separate student and civil-society groups are also demanding accountability from the election authorities.
With demonstrations now spreading and competing claims still unresolved, attention is firmly focused on the voter lists, the Election Commission and the public’s confidence in the electoral process.
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