Abhijeet Dipke asks opposition parties to stop participating in ‘rigged’ elections

Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke addresses a press conference alleging that the Election Commission is stealing votes and demands the resignation of the ECI chief within 48 hours, in Delhi September 24, 2026 | Photo credit: ANI

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday (September 25, 2026) called on opposition parties to stop participating in elections if they believe the electoral process is rigged, saying their continued participation only legitimizes such polls and creates an “illusion” that they are free and fair.

In a post on X, Mr. Dipke said that opposition parties cannot simultaneously claim that the election was rigged and continue to fight against it.

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“Yes, elections are rigged. But if you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimize those elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair,” he said.

Mr. Dipke questioned whether the opposition parties were still participating because they feared that if they did not participate in the elections, it would lead to their political demise.

For the opposition:

Yes, the election is rigged. But if you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimize those elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair.

Maybe you’re still competing because you’re afraid that if you don’t, you’ll stop…

— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) September 25, 2026

“Maybe you are still contesting because you fear that if you don’t, you will cease to exist. But what kind of existence are you trying to protect when votes are being stolen, your MLAs and MPs are poachers and your parties are being divided?” he said.

“This is not political survival. You are simply trying to stay alive in a system that can weaken you, divide your party or take away your elected representatives whenever it wants. How long can you survive like this?” asked Mr. Dipke.

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He also accused the opposition parties of selectively taking up the issue of alleged election rigging depending on the state or political party concerned.

“And you can’t talk about election rigging only when it happens in states you care about and keep quiet when it happens elsewhere. If an election is rigged, it should matter regardless of the state or which party it is,” the CJP convener said.

“You can’t keep saying the game is rigged while you’re playing it. Your participation is the only thing that gives these rigged elections legitimacy,” he argued.

Appealing to opposition parties to put democracy before their political interests, Mr Dipke said: “Think of the nation and its democracy before you think of your own political survival. Take a stand and stop participating in rigged elections.”

Drawing an analogy with a fixed cricket match, he said the election could look competitive even if its result was allegedly rigged.

“Just like in a tight match, not every hold will be dropped. Some holds will be taken and the match may even be dragged to the last to make it look like a close fight,” he said.

“In the same way, you’ll be handed a few wins, just enough to compete and make people believe it’s a real competition. Those few wins are the crumbs that keep you in the game and make the whole thing look legitimate,” Mr Dipke said.

The CJP founder on Thursday (September 24) demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and threatened to launch a ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’ agitation if his demand was not met.

The remarks came a day after The Indian Express reported on Wednesday (September 23) that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally challenged the Election Commission’s decisions and orders at least 14 times in the past 10 months, including additions, deletions and renewals of voters and changes in the voter registration process.

Following a report by The Indian Express, election panel officials said the two commissioners flagged the decisions taken during the cleansing of electoral rolls and tampering with the voter database in various states.

EC sources claimed that all decisions of the Election Commission of India, including the SIR, were unanimous and with the concurrence of both the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner.

Published – 25 Sep 2026 11:54 IST