YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and actor-activist Prakash Raj joined the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday, rallying against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convener Sourav Das led the demonstration.

The protest, held under the slogan ‘Save Our Votes, Save Democracy’, featured a people’s tribunal where residents who say they were wrongly removed from voter lists narrated their experiences. It was followed by a ‘chappal protest’ in solidarity with women.

Rathee, who returned to India for the agitation, was heard raising slogans including ‘vote chor, gaddi chod’ and urged people to join the CJP’s larger demonstration at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on October 10. Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala has claimed about 13 crore names were removed from rolls across 19 states — a claim the Election Commission rejects.

The Bengaluru rally sets the stage for the October 10 Delhi gathering, which Delhi Police have urged people to avoid. The agitation marks a rare street-level entry by Rathee, who has largely campaigned through digital platforms.