TRICOLOUR MARCH BRINGS ELECTION COMMISSION ROW TO DELHI’S HEART AS PROTESTERS DEMAND GYANESH KUMAR’S RESIGNATION

October 16, 2026

NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 16: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), led by Abhijeet Dipke, planned a Tricolour protest march at Connaught Place in New Delhi on Friday, intensifying its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and bringing electoral accountability back into the political spotlight.

The demonstration, publicised under the slogan ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’, centred on demands for Kumar’s resignation amid allegations and concerns surrounding the revision of electoral rolls. The protesters sought to use the national flag as a symbol of their demand for transparency and accountability in the functioning of the Election Commission.

The planned march followed tensions surrounding earlier demonstrations and restrictions imposed by the authorities. The dispute has raised questions about the right to peaceful protest, the treatment of demonstrators and the freedom of political activists to express their concerns in public spaces.

The Delhi Police had deployed more than 6,000 personnel, alongside 220 companies of Central Armed Police Forces and additional CCTV surveillance, ahead of the proposed 5 p.m. march. The New Delhi Municipal Council announced that Central Park would remain closed on Friday and Saturday, while police said permission had not been granted for the march and prohibitory orders were in force. Authorities offered to facilitate a smaller group of protesters at an alternative location.

Dipke said he was prepared to face arrest for waving the national flag and maintained that the campaign sought Kumar’s removal and the appointment of an independent, impartial election commissioner—not a change of government. He also alleged that he was being monitored by security personnel.

The planned demonstration follows the judicial custody of CJP members Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka after their October 13 protest at Jantar Mantar. The confrontation has intensified debate over electoral accountability, restrictions on public demonstrations and the right to peaceful political expression in the national capital.