Supporters of the Cockroach Janta party (CJP) have been protesting in Delhi, calling for the resignation of India's chief election commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar. This follows reports in the Indian Express in late September alleging that Kumar had facilitated a purge of voter rolls.
The protests have been met with a strong state response. On 10 October, CJP leaders were absent from demonstrations after being detained at Delhi airport, with allegations that thousands of members faced preventive detention. Left-wing and Congress-allied student organisations, along with activists, continued to protest.
On 12 October, following a call from Rahul Gandhi, Delhi's streets were filled with protesters. The state responded by deploying 90,000 Delhi police and security forces, closing 45 metro stations, and cancelling trains to Delhi. Student activists travelling to the capital were reportedly picked up en route.
Further arrests occurred on 13 October when a small group of Cockroaches were detained entering Jantar Mantar, which police had banned as a protest site. Two leaders, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were jailed for five days. On 16 October, when the CJP called for a flag-waving celebration at Central Park in Connaught Place, the New Delhi Municipal Council shut down the park for two days. The park was cordoned off, and 220 companies of Central Armed Police Forces were deployed. Cockroach leader Abhijeet Dipke and communist student leader Neha Bora were detained while attempting to reach Connaught Place, with Neha released the following morning and Abhijeet on conditional bail.