The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had a flow show in the form of its ‘Lehra do Tiranga’ demonstration in Mumbai on Friday, 16th October, with less than 50 people gathering at Azad Maidan during the day. It must be mentioned that CJP has 22 million followers on Instagram.
The one-day protest was organised in support of the party’s co-conveners and founders, Ashutosh Ranka and Saurav Das, but failed to draw a large crowd.
The demonstration was held between 10 am and 5 pm under heavy police deployment. Protesters carried the national flag, portraits of Bhagat Singh and placards criticising the administration. Books and party literature were also displayed on sheets spread across the ground for supporters and passers-by.
Despite official permission from Mumbai Police, CJP’s protest at Azad Maidan turns into a huge FLOP SHOW, with barely 20 people showing up!! So proud of my fellow Mumbaikars who have spoken, loud and clear!! No takers for manufactured outrage here. As always, our no-nonsense city stands tall, and the cockroaches stand exposed!!
— Priti Gandhi (@MrsGandhi) October 16, 2026
The crowd remained limited during the morning, increased somewhat during speeches and thinned out again in the afternoon. The protest concluded by 5 pm.
Despite the low attendance, Rupali Kudtarkar of the CJP said the party would continue its agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. “We will keep protesting each day until Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” she said.
Kudtarkar also claimed that the party had initially planned to hold the demonstration at the Gateway of India but was asked by the police to move to Azad Maidan. According to her, the protesters were later allowed to take a photograph at the Gateway of India. The turnout at Azad Maidan was low despite permission for the demonstration.
Delhi ‘Lehra do Tiranga’ protest hit by Police detentions
Apart from Mumbai, some reports also suggest that the CJP’s protest turned out to be a complete flop in Delhi as well. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke had announced a protest under the ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ campaign at Central Park in Connaught Place, Delhi. However, before the protest could even properly take place, Delhi police detained Abhijeet Dipke. The CJP’s demonstration in Delhi showed zero impact, and the roads in Connaught Place remained open with completely normal traffic.
Dipke was taken into preventive custody right as he was leaving his house and heading toward Central Park, and AISA President Neha Bora was also detained from Mandi House.
The planned demonstration at Central Park did not take place as intended, with police restrictions and detentions thwarting the organisers’ plans to cause unrest in the national capital. The action came amid heightened security in central Delhi and restrictions around the protest site.
BJP calls October 10 Delhi protest a ‘Flop Show’
Adding to the series of failed events, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed an earlier CJP-led protest in Delhi on 10th October as a “flop show”, describing the whole gathering as a demonstration by anarchists while heavily criticising recent opposition activities.
Addressing a media briefing at the BJP headquarters, national spokesperson and Lok Sabha MP Sambit Patra launched a sharp attack, claiming that the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), and other opposition parties were putting democracy and the electoral process at risk over allegations of ‘vote-chori’. “Anarchists’ protest in Delhi a flop show; Peace in country,” Patra said.
The BJP spokesperson said that the Opposition was trying to create unrest rather than address its concerns through established channels. He further added that the protest had failed to disrupt normal life in the capital. “But today, democracy won over the mobocracy. The anarchists have failed and their flop-show would not further go,” Patra said.
Bengaluru protest also saw limited participation
Earlier, on 8th October, the CJP’s protest call in Bengaluru’s Freedom Park also received a muted response, with limited public participation despite the campaign being promoted by Dipke and AAP supporter Dhruv Rathee.
Visuals from the protest venue were described as showing only a small gathering, falling short of the crowd that organisers might have hoped to attract. The demonstration was part of the party’s wider campaign against alleged electoral irregularities and its demand for action against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Visuals from the protest venue clearly highlighted minimal public participation, proving that the CJP’s protest call fell completely flat in Bengaluru with a thin gathering, bringing no crowd despite the announcement by propagandist YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
