Ajinkya Shinde, the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) Organisation In-Charge, will lead the movement's Jantar Mantar protest after founder Abhijeet Dipke and two other senior leaders were detained by Delhi Police on Saturday.
The Handover
Dipke, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were taken into custody as they landed in the capital from Mumbai, ahead of the party's protest demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Anticipating the arrests, Dipke had pre-recorded a video on Friday night.
The CJP posted it on X after the detentions.
In it, Dipke said that if supporters were watching, the three leaders had been arrested and Shinde would lead the protest and the movement in their absence.
The party said Shinde would remain in charge until the three are released.
Shinde's Message
In his own video, Shinde urged supporters to keep moving towards Jantar Mantar and to protest wherever police stopped them.
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He said the government was frightened of the movement's unity, and asked those detained en route to turn that spot into Jantar Mantar.
Who Is Ajinkya Shinde?
Shinde is from Alibaug, a coastal town in Maharashtra, and has been a close associate of Dipke for years.
He previously worked as a social media coordinator for the Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) Maharashtra team. He reportedly first met Dipke in Goa in 2016.
He left a corporate job to work full-time for AAP and spent a year campaigning for the Goa Assembly elections.
AAP did not win a seat there, but Shinde stayed with the party and moved to its Maharashtra unit, where he reportedly toured every district.
Crackdown Widens
Several other CJP leaders and supporters were detained on Saturday. Police also detained YouTuber Dhruv Rathee from his home in Gurugram.
He had returned from Germany earlier this week and joined a CJP protest in Bengaluru on October 8.
ALSO READ | Delhi CJP Protest: Neha Bora Detained; Dipke, Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka Taken To Different Locations
Police had denied permission for the Jantar Mantar protest, saying organisers did not apply in good time.
Protesters who tried to reach the site were rounded up near Connaught Place, put into police buses and taken to Chhatrasal Stadium. At least 400 people were also detained overnight in different parts of the capital.
The CJP has accused the Election Commission of irregularities in voter registration and in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
It began as a viral movement and has since drawn support from opposition parties.
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