The disagreement has played out largely on social media after contrasting scenes from demonstrations in Mumbai and New Delhi. CJP supporters were able to hold a gathering at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on October 2, while protesters attempting to reach Jantar Mantar in the capital encountered barricades, prohibitory orders and repeated detentions.
Questions over the contrasting outcomes prompted an exchange involving CJP spokesperson Saurav Das. Responding to criticism that CJP protesters could demonstrate in Mumbai while members of the National Students’ Union of India and Indian Youth Congress were detained in Delhi, Das argued that those detained immediately should reconsider their strategy rather than blame others.
His response drew criticism from users who circulated footage of Bora and other demonstrators being detained, with some accusing him of dismissing the difficulties faced by protesters in Delhi. The exchange exposed tactical differences among sections supporting a campaign whose participants broadly share demands over electoral rolls and Kumar’s position.
Dipke and Bora, however, have sought to prevent those arguments from becoming a personal rivalry. When an X user described Bora as more talented than Dipke, the CJP founder publicly agreed. Bora responded that the emphasis should be on solidarity rather than comparison and said they were fighting together. Dipke answered with the slogan “Inquilab Zindabad”.
Their public show of unity came as Bora remained at the centre of confrontations between demonstrators and police in New Delhi. Hundreds of protesters, including Bora and activist Yogendra Yadav, were detained for several hours on Sunday as demonstrations demanding Kumar’s resignation entered a third consecutive day.
Bora was detained while leading a march from the Andhra Bhavan Canteen towards Jantar Mantar. Protesters split into groups and moved towards Ashoka Road, where police erected barricades. Police sources put Sunday’s detentions at about 250, including AISA, Aam Aadmi Party and Indian Youth Congress workers. Bora was taken to Narela police station and released later that evening.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita remained in force in the New Delhi district, and roads around Jantar Mantar and Parliament Street were restricted. Police deployed buses and riot-control vehicles as protesters continued trying to reach the demonstration area.
The Delhi protest also drew society activists and members of political groups, underscoring the loose coalition behind the agitation and the difficulty of maintaining one strategy across organisations with different structures.
The agitation centres on allegations that the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has wrongly excluded eligible voters and benefited the governing Bharatiya Janata Party. The Election Commission and the government have denied allegations of manipulation. The Commission says the voter-verification exercise is intended to remove duplicate, deceased or otherwise ineligible entries, and has directed officials to register eligible voters who were omitted.
CJP launched its latest nationwide campaign with the Mumbai protest, saying demonstrations would continue until Kumar resigned. The group has announced further mobilisation in several cities and a major gathering in Delhi on October 10.
The widening protest has also drawn political organisations into arguments over who built the movement and whose methods have been effective. Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj faced criticism after referring to “side players” while accusing what he called an ecosystem hostile to the earlier Jantar Mantar agitation of trying to appropriate it after its growth.
Student groups and Congress supporters objected to the description, saying it diminished Bora’s organising role. Bora had already become a prominent figure during the earlier student agitation over examination irregularities, while CJP grew from an online satirical initiative into a youth-led protest network.
