The CJP’s guns-and-levers protest policy seems to have struck a wall. Party leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka finally got out of Tihar Jail after three days of judicial custody by submitting a written undertaking to the court that they will not call protests at Jantar Mantar so long as the venue remains de-notified. Their freedom has posed an even bigger question: has the street agitation model of the CJP run out of road, and what will the failed Abhijeet Dipke do now?
Why They Were Arrested?
Das and Ranka entered Jantar Mantar after scaling a locked gate when it was de-notified as an authorised protest site. They were taken into custody for allegedly violating peace bonds that they had signed earlier and were remanded to judicial custody for “breach of peace”. The protest was one of the CJP’s campaigns calling for the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner, who was accused of irregularities related to the revision of the electoral roll.
What caused them to get out?
Special Executive Magistrate released them on personal and surety bonds of ₹50,000 each. The two assured the court they will keep peace, not call protests at Jantar Mantar till the time the place is restored through law of the land as a protest venue. It was held that the bonds and written undertakings would suffice to keep the peace, and no further judicial custody was to be granted. The inquiry will go on with the next date for hearing fixed for October 23. The police had asked for a five-day extension because of a serious threat, but the defence said there was no such threat, nor fresh protest call. The magistrate agreed to record that argument.
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Why The Protest “Didnt Really Work?
The CJP had planned the Jantar Mantar event as an extension of its vehement protest against the CEC. But the end result was just the reverse that the party might have desired: the two leading lights of the party found themselves in police custody and released after giving an assurance of not agitating further. The legal restrictions neatly deprive the party of its ultimate form of protest-street mobilisation at Jantar Mantar. This leaves the movement with little space to keep up public momentum and avoid another clash with the police.
Dipke’s Dilemma
Abhijeet Dipke praised the two former gang leaders for their release, naming Das and Ranka “much, much bigger leaders” than him and saying he was prepared to “accept their commands”.
But the actual test starts now, he said. Earlier, Dipke had told a media team that after the two leaders returned, the CJP would “restrategise”, and that the party would not be cowered into submission.
He has three main options now:
- Sustain legal and political pressure through press releases, social media activism, and by utilizing the constitution not through protests at the site.
- Move the agitation outside Delhi, garner backing among volunteers and at the local level without prompting a repeat of Jantar Mantar.
- Back-off the militant phase, particularly after he used his call for supporters to go home for the holidays to hit the pause button-a sign that the pressure on volunteers and families was becoming increasingly undeniable.
What Happens Next?
Das and Ranka may have been released, but their undertakings mean the CJP cannot simply return to the same protest playbook. Any fresh action at Jantar Mantar could be viewed as a violation of their court assurances. For Dipke, the immediate task is to keep the electoral-reform issue alive without pushing his leaders back into legal trouble. Whether he chooses restraint, reinvention, or another round of confrontation will decide whether the CJP remains a serious political movement or becomes another protest that burned bright briefly and then faded.
