Govind Tekale
Gyanesh Kumar is India's Chief Election Commissioner. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), led by founder Abhijeet Dipke, has demanded Kumar's resignation and threatened a "Jantar Mantar 2.0" protest if he does not step down within 48 hours. The dispute centres on the Election Commission's implementation of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Here is what each party has officially said and what the primary record shows.
What the ECI has confirmed: Gyanesh Kumar took charge as Chief Election Commissioner in February 2025. He remains in the role. The ECI's official website lists him as CEC. The commission has been conducting a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls under its constitutional and statutory powers. The ECI says the objective of the SIR is to ensure that eligible citizens are included while ineligible persons are not included in the electoral roll.
What the CJP has alleged: The Cockroach Janta Party has publicly demanded Kumar's resignation, connecting it to their position on the SIR process. The CJP demands criminal proceedings against the CEC, a freeze on the SIR, restoration of the January 2025 voter list, and repeal of the 2023 appointment Act. CJP has announced a "Jantar Mantar 2.0" protest if these demands are not met within 48 hours.
What is disputed: The CJP's characterisation of the SIR process as improper and their demand that Kumar resign. These are political positions, not established findings.
The SIR Dispute
The Special Intensive Revision is a specific electoral roll exercise conducted by the ECI under Article 324 and the Representation of the People Act. The current SIR covers 16 states and 3 union territories.
Opposition parties, including the CJP and others, have questioned aspects of the current SIR exercise, including its timing, methodology, and the scale of deletions in certain constituencies. Their argument is that the revision process is being conducted in a way that could disadvantage certain voter groups.
The Election Commission has defended the SIR process as legally grounded. Petitions challenging aspects of the SIR have been filed in courts, and those proceedings provide the formal legal forum for adjudication.
Gyanesh Kumar's position as CEC is an appointment made through a process established under the Chief Election Commissioners and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, alongside constitutional provisions. Removal from the position requires a separate constitutional process. A political party's demand for resignation is not a removal mechanism and does not change Kumar's legal status in the role.
The distinction matters: headlines that treat a demand for resignation as equivalent to a resignation, or that frame an allegation as an established finding, misrepresent where the dispute actually stands.
For background on how the Election Commission's independence is structured under Indian law and what powers exist to challenge its decisions, the constitutional framework and the 2023 Act are the relevant primary texts.
The courts are the primary arena where the SIR dispute will be tested legally. Any orders from the Supreme Court or High Courts regarding the SIR or the CEC's conduct will be the relevant developments to watch.
Court proceedings, official ECI notifications on SIR outcomes, and any formal judicial findings are the developments worth tracking here. Check back as those proceedings advance.
