In India, the influential "cockroach" protest movement, led by Gen Z, is preparing to take to the streets again. This time, activists are demanding electoral reforms and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who is accused of manipulating voter lists.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), or Cockroach People's Party, began as a satirical movement on the Internet but has gradually grown into a prominent political force. She achieved her first major success in July, when the relevant minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, resigned after several weeks of protests demanding reform of the education system.
CJP leaders have now called on supporters to gather at Shivaji Park in Mumbai at 4 pm local time on Friday - "to save democracy" and to demand Kumar's resignation.
Kumar himself and the Election Commission of India have not yet responded to demands from the CJP and opposition parties for his resignation, or to allegations of election fraud and vote manipulation. The BBC has approached them for comment.
In recent days, the CJP has been actively calling on its supporters to take to the streets. The movement has 25 million followers on Instagram and more than 400 thousand on X. Activists are distributing posts, videos and posters calling for people to come to the rally to “strengthen the voice of democracy.”
In a statement issued on Thursday, the CJP said the Mumbai rally will be the first in a series of protests planned across India in October. The campaign is planned to end with a mass rally in the capital Delhi.
The Mumbai Police did not give permission for the rally, the CJP said. However, the city is increasing security measures in anticipation of a large number of protesters. Some of the state's leading opposition parties also expressed support for the demonstration.
The reason for the new protest campaign was information published last week by the Indian Express newspaper about disagreements within the Election Commission. According to the publication, two other members of the commission - Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi - over the course of ten months, at least 14 times, formally objected to decisions and orders that, according to them, were made without their knowledge.
Most of the disagreements reportedly related to a controversial review of voter lists that began last year, a procedure called Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The Election Commission says a review of the lists is necessary to remove duplicates and those who are not eligible to vote. At the moment, 130 million people have already been excluded from the lists.
However, opposition parties and activists claim that many eligible citizens are among those excluded, with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar allegedly using the procedure to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during elections. The BJP and the Election Commission deny the allegations.
According to the Indian Express, two other members of the commission also questioned the reliability of the voter database, changes in the procedure for registering new voters and the security of the electoral rolls themselves.
The Electoral Commission defended its work, saying "differences of opinion" were a normal part of the "decision-making process" and all final decisions were made unanimously.
Nevertheless, the publication caused a great outcry, and opposition leaders demanded Kumar's resignation.
The leader of the opposition and one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress party, Rahul Gandhi, has repeatedly accused the commission of “stealing votes from the opposition,” and called the officials involved, according to him, in such actions, “traitors.”
Another prominent opposition politician, Mamata Banerjee, demanded the arrest of the chief election commissioner.
On Wednesday, the opposition INDIA alliance, which unites nearly two dozen parties, including the political forces of Gandhi and Banerjee, announced plans to hold protests across the country in the coming days. On October 6, opposition MPs intend to march to the Election Commission building in Delhi.
Many opposition parties also supported the planned rally in Mumbai.
Despite the police refusal to allow the protest, CJP founder Abhijeet Deepke said supporters of the movement would still assemble. If police begin making arrests, activists intend to launch a "Jail Bharo Andolan" - a campaign of mass civil disobedience in which participants deliberately seek arrests in order to overcrowd prisons.
