If you believe elections are rigged, what should you do? Fight to reform the system? Demand greater transparency? Challenge irregularities through constitutional institutions and courts? Or simply stop participating in elections?
That is the question raised by the Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, who has now urged Opposition parties to stop contesting elections if they genuinely believe that the electoral process is being rigged.
For opposition:
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.
Maybe you keep contesting because you fear that if you don’t, you will stop…— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) September 25, 2026
Dipke’s argument is that since elections are not free and fair, continuing to contest them only gives legitimacy to a system opposition says is broken. He has described participation in such elections as maintaining an “illusion” that they are free and fair.
But here comes the uncomfortable democratic question, what happens when political parties stop fighting elections?
Because elections are not an optional side event in a parliamentary democracy. They are the mechanism through which citizens choose their representatives. You don’t like the Election Commission? Demand accountability, asking political parties to boycott elections undermines the very essence of democracy.
You believe votes are being wrongly deleted? Challenge it. You believe electoral rules are being misused? Fight to change those rules. You believe an election was unfair? Challenge the process and present evidence. But telling political parties to simply walk away from elections creates an entirely different proposition.
Imagine the logic taken to its extreme. “Elections are rigged, so we won’t contest.” Then the next election arrives. “We still don’t trust the system, so we won’t contest.” And eventually, the political battle moves away from the ballot box altogether.
That is precisely why this latest statement from the Cockroach Janata Party founder deserves public ridicule.
Interestingly, Dipke had earlier said that CJP itself did not intend to contest elections and preferred functioning as a pressure group rather than entering electoral politics.
So the obvious question is that if you don’t believe electoral politics is the solution, what is the alternative? Permanent protests? Pressure campaigns? Making laws on the streets, or even better, making laws on Instagram?
These can all play a role in a democracy. But none of them can replace the basic democratic mechanism of citizens voting for representatives.
And this is where CJP’s latest position becomes much bigger than one political statement.
A democracy certainly allows citizens to question institutions. It allows political movements to accuse governments, challenge election authorities and demand reforms. And democracy depends on citizens’ participation, and that only happens through elections.
And for the citizens, the question is simple- if you believe democracy is broken, do you repair it by walking away from the ballot box or by fighting to make the ballot box stronger?
