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New Delhi: Amid the ongoing controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has urged opposition parties to reconsider their participation in elections if they believe the electoral process is being rigged. He also raised an alarm over the recent post-poll defections, sharing numbers from an ADR report

In his X post, Dipke accused the BJP of “dismantling regional forces with the ECI’s and court’s help.” He alleged that the BJP is creating proxy parties to “manufacture pseudo-regional alternatives,” forces that appear regional but ultimately serve the BJP’s interests.

In a post on X, Dipke argued that continuing to contest elections while alleging that they are being manipulated only legitimises the process and creates an “illusion” that elections are free and fair.

“Yes, elections are being rigged. But when you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimise these elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair,” Dipke wrote on X.

“Maybe you keep contesting because you fear that if you don’t, you will stop existing. But what kind of existence are you trying to protect when votes are being stolen, your MLAs and MPs are being poached, and your parties are being split? This is not political survival. You are simply trying to stay alive in a system that can weaken you, split your party or take away your elected representatives whenever it wants. How long can you survive like this?” he said.

Dipke warned the Opposition that it should not selectively raise concerns over alleged election rigging.

“And you cannot talk about election rigging only when it happens in states that matter to you and remain silent when it happens elsewhere. If elections are being rigged, it should matter regardless of the state or which party is affected,” he added.

“You cannot keep saying the game is rigged while continuing to play it. Your participation is the only thing that gives these rigged elections legitimacy. Think about the nation and its democracy before thinking about your own political survival. Take a stand and stop participating in rigged elections,” the post further read.

Dipke’s post comes a day after CJP demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar within 48 hours and threatened a nationwide agitation, including “Jantar Mantar 2.0”, if he does not step down.

The CJP’s demands followed a report by The Indian Express alleging that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on multiple occasions over issues related to electoral-roll management, including voter additions and deletions and the handling of electoral-roll data. The Election Commission has maintained that differing views and written observations are part of the normal deliberative process and that final decisions, including those on SIR, were unanimous.

The CJP has also called for a freeze on upcoming elections, a rollback of SIR to the 2025 electoral roll and changes to the law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners.

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