Election Commission row LIVE: Dipke urges opposition to boycott ‘rigged’ elections
Kochi: Abhijeet Dipke, founder and convenor of the Cockroach Janta Party, has called on opposition parties to stop participating in what he described as 'rigged' elections.
In a post on X, Dipke alleged that continued participation in such elections legitimises the process and creates an 'illusion' that they are free and fair. He also questioned the opposition's focus on political survival, alleging that elected representatives and parties were being weakened, split, or taken away.
Dipke's remarks come amid a political row over the Election Commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar, after an Indian Express investigation reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections 14 times over 10 months to decisions on electoral rolls and the poll body's IT systems. The report has fuelled opposition demands for Kumar's removal, while the Election Commission has said the objections were part of its deliberative process and that key SIR decisions were taken unanimously.
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Naveen Patnaik, BJD president and Leader of the Opposition in Odisha. File photo: ANI Video Grab -
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Dipke questions opposition’s participation in ‘rigged’ polls
Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke has urged opposition parties to stop contesting elections he alleges are being 'rigged'. In a post on X, he said continued participation gives such elections legitimacy and helps maintain the appearance of a free and fair contest.
For opposition:
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) September 25, 2026
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.
Maybe you keep contesting because you fear that if you don’t, you will stop… -
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VIDEO | Kolkata: On Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori is kanoon chori" remark, West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh says, "He is about to become a senior citizen, so he should speak wisely."
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 25, 2026
(Full video available on PTI Videos - https://t.co/d8jp61yd2p) pic.twitter.com/DBK1QgRfst -
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This is a Tale of Two PMs
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) September 25, 2026
One PM got Parliament in its regular Winter Session in Dec 1988 to amend Article 326 of the Constitution to reduce the minimum age for voting from 21 years to 18 years. This was a PM who empowered the youth.
There is another PM who has ensured that the…
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke urges oppostion parties to not contest in "rigged" elections
Dipke questioned whether opposition parties continued to participate because they feared that staying away from elections would lead to their political extinction.
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