NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has urged opposition parties to stop participating in elections if they believe the electoral process is being rigged, arguing that continued participation gives legitimacy to polls they themselves question.In a post on X on Friday, Dipke said opposition parties could not claim that elections were being rigged while continuing to contest them.“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,” he said.Dipke questioned whether opposition parties continued to contest elections because they feared losing their political presence if they stayed away.“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?” he said.“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?” Dipke asked.
‘Cannot talk about rigging selectively’
The CJP founder also accused opposition parties of raising allegations of election rigging selectively, depending on the state or political party involved.“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,” the CJP convener said.“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,” he claimed.Dipke appealed to opposition parties to put democracy ahead of their political interests.“Think about the nation and its democracy before thinking about your own political survival. Take a stand and stop participating in rigged elections.”
‘Like a fixed cricket match’
Dipke compared an allegedly manipulated election to a fixed cricket match, saying an election could still appear competitive even if its outcome had been predetermined.“Just like in a fixed match, not every catch is dropped. Some catches are taken, and the match may even be dragged to the last over to make it look like a close fight,” he said.“In the same way, you will be handed a few wins, just enough to keep you contesting and to make people believe there was a real contest. Those few wins are the crumbs that keep you in the game and make the whole thing look legitimate,” Dipke said.The remarks came a day after Dipke 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.They also followed a report by The Indian Express on Wednesday that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the previous 10 months to decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including those concerning the addition, deletion and restoration of voters and changes to the voter registration process.Following the report, poll panel officials said the two commissioners had flagged decisions taken during voter-roll cleanup and the handling of the voter database in various states.EC sources maintained that all decisions of the Election Commission of India, including SIR, had been unanimous and approved by both election commissioners and the chief election commissioner.(With inputs from PTI)
