Bengaluru’s Freedom Park saw another major protest over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls on 8 October.
CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke was joined by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, actor and activist Prakash Raj, writer Devanuru Mahadeva, political commentator Parakala Prabhakar, students, women and civil society groups.
The protest was part of CJP’s wider campaign to scrap SIR and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
But Bengaluru has already seen protests over SIR. So what made this gathering different?
Who Joined the Bengaluru Protest?
Dhruv Rathee was one of the biggest draws.
The YouTuber had announced his participation a day earlier and urged people to attend the Bengaluru protest as well as the planned CJP demonstration at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on 10 October. His appearance was significant because this was his first public protest appearance in India, according to reports.
Rathee told protesters that he had not come to call for a change of regime and instead focused his criticism on what he described as a lack of transparency and accountability at the Election Commission.
Prakash Raj was another prominent presence.
His involvement in the SIR protests in Bengaluru was not new. He had already participated in an “Election Commission Chalo” protest at Freedom Park on 1 September, where he was among nearly 100 people detained while protesters attempted to march towards the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.
This time, Raj returned alongside Rathee and CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke.
The gathering also included writer Devanuru Mahadeva, political commentator Parakala Prabhakar and former minister Mukhyamantri Chandru, according to reports from the protest.
Students, women and civil society groups were also part of the mobilisation. The event was organised by the Cockroach Janta Party along with youth organisations and civil society groups.
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What Was the Protest About?
The immediate issue was SIR, or Special Intensive Revision, the Election Commission’s exercise to revise electoral rolls.
The protesters alleged that eligible voters had been removed from the rolls and demanded that the exercise be scrapped. They also called for Gyanesh Kumar to resign.
Those allegations have not been accepted by the Election Commission as established fact. The poll body has maintained that the revision process has legal sanction and that differing views within the Commission are part of institutional deliberations.
At Freedom Park, the organisers tried to put the people claiming to have been affected by the process at the centre of the protest.
That was the purpose of the People’s Tribunal.
People from across Karnataka were invited to give accounts of alleged voter deletions and administrative problems. The tribunal was to include retired Supreme Court judge V. Gopala Gowda and legal experts, with the testimonies framed by organisers as evidence of possible disenfranchisement during the revision process.
The protest also had its own visual language.
Placards read “Error 404: Name Not Found”, “Don’t erase us, hear us” and “Gyanesh Kumar, gaddi leave your chair”. Other posters referred to “Vote theft” and “Grand Theft Democracy”.
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Why Bengaluru?
There is a reason this debate has repeatedly returned to Bengaluru.
Karnataka is currently undergoing SIR, making the voter roll revision a particularly immediate issue in the state. The Election Commission’s own voter services portal lists SIR 2026 services, including searching names in the last SIR and submitting documents against notices.
And Freedom Park has already been the site of multiple protests over the process.
On 1 September, civil society groups held the “Election Commission Chalo” demonstration. Prakash Raj and actor Kishore participated, and protesters demanded more time for claims and appeals, greater transparency around notices issued to voters and safeguards against eligible voters being removed. Nearly 100 protesters were detained when the march was stopped.
Then, on 26 September, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee held another protest at Freedom Park. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Veerappa Moily and other Congress leaders joined the demonstration. The Congress demanded Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and arrest, while Left parties and unions held a separate protest in Bengaluru that day with demands including restoration of deletions made under SIR.
So 8 October was not the beginning of Bengaluru’s SIR protests.
It was the latest, and perhaps the most varied, iteration.
What Was Different This Time?
The September protests were largely driven by established political parties, civil society organisations and activists.
The 8 October protest blurred those lines.
A digital creator with millions of followers stood alongside an actor who had already been campaigning against SIR, while a youth-led political movement turned the event into a public tribunal.
That mix matters.
Dhruv Rathee brought a large digital audience into a protest that had previously been dominated by political parties and civil society groups. Prakash Raj provided continuity from the earlier Bengaluru demonstrations. And the CJP brought the protest into the wider national campaign it has been building around Gyanesh Kumar.
The timing was important too.
The Bengaluru protest came just two days before the CJP’s planned demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on 10 October. CJP has said it will continue its campaign if Gyanesh Kumar does not resign.
In other words, Bengaluru was not a standalone protest.
It was part of a larger escalation.
From Voter Lists To People’s Testimonies
The most interesting part of the Bengaluru protest was perhaps not who was on stage, but who was being asked to speak.
The People’s Tribunal was built around people who said they had been affected by SIR.
That changed the structure of the protest.
Instead of only political leaders making allegations about the Election Commission, organisers created a platform for citizens to put forward their own accounts. Those accounts remain allegations unless independently verified, but they became the emotional centre of the gathering.
That was reflected in the language of the posters too.
“Error 404: Name Not Found” was not just a slogan. It captured the central anxiety around the protest: what happens when a person checks the voter list and cannot find their own name?
The Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that its electoral roll revision process is legally authorised and has provided official services for voters to check their names and submit documents where required.
What Happens Next?
The Bengaluru protest comes as the CJP prepares to take its campaign to Delhi.
The organisation has announced a protest at Jantar Mantar on 10 October, continuing its demand for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and opposition to the SIR process.
For Bengaluru, however, this protest is part of a story that has already been unfolding for weeks.
Freedom Park has hosted civil society protesters, actors, Congress leaders and now a combination of digital creators, activists, writers and citizens appearing before a People’s Tribunal.
The faces have changed.
The slogans have changed.
But the central question has remained the same: who gets to remain on the electoral roll, and how transparent is the process by which that decision is made?
That is why Bengaluru matters this time.
Not because it was the first city to protest SIR.
But because it has become one of the places where the argument over voter lists has moved from political speeches into the streets, and now, into a public hearing.
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TL;DR | News At A Glance
What Happened At The Bengaluru CJP Protest?
The Cockroach Janta Party held a People’s Tribunal and protest at Freedom Park on 8 October over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, demanding the scrapping of SIR and the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Who Joined The Bengaluru Protest?
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, actor and activist Prakash Raj, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, writer Devanuru Mahadeva, political commentator Parakala Prabhakar, students, women and civil society groups participated in the event.
Why Did Dhruv Rathee Join The Protest?
Rathee attended the Bengaluru protest after announcing his participation on social media. He criticised what he described as a lack of transparency and accountability at the Election Commission.
Was Prakash Raj Already Involved In Bengaluru’s SIR Protests?
Yes. Raj participated in an Election Commission Chalo protest at Freedom Park on 1 September, where he was among protesters detained during a march towards the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.
Why Has Bengaluru Seen Multiple SIR Protests?
Karnataka is undergoing SIR, making voter roll revision a particularly immediate issue in the state. Bengaluru has hosted protests by civil society groups, Congress and Left parties, as well as the CJP-led mobilisation.
What Is The CJP’s Next Protest?
The CJP has announced another demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on 10 October as it continues its campaign against Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR process.
