India’s Modi faces dual pressure from ‘cockroach’ movement, opposition parties

India’s Modi faces dual pressure from ‘cockroach’ movement, opposition parties

The two groups’ objection to the revised voter rolls has fuelled speculation that they could become a new potent political force

Leaders of around 20 parties in the opposition India National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, or INDIA, rallied against the Election Commission’s revised voter rolls, which critics say have potentially removed millions of eligible voters from the electoral register.

Chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has come under scrutiny after The Indian Express reported last month that he bypassed two other election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, before the revision. The two commissioners had repeatedly raised objections to aspects of the process, including deletion and addition of voters, according to the report.