Who is Ajinkya Shinde? All about CJP leader who is guiding the movement after Dipke's arrest

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) leader Ajinkya Shinde has called on supporters to gather at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park at 4 pm, intensifying the group’s agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral-roll irregularities. The call comes as the CJP’s protest movement continues despite detentions of several senior leaders in Delhi. 

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Shinde, the CJP’s national organisation in-charge, urged party workers and supporters to assemble at the historic Dadar ground (commonly known as Shivaji Park), according to Ajinkya Shinde X post. The venue has emerged as a key site for the outfit’s Mumbai mobilisation, with an earlier CJP protest there on October 2 drawing a large police-estimated crowd of around 9,000 to 10,000 people by 4 pm.

The CJP has been demanding that Kumar step down, alleging irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Shinde has also demanded that the 2025 voter lists be frozen and that the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners be scrapped.

Who Is Ajinkya Shinde?

Ajinkya Shinde, 35, is a computer science graduate from Maharashtra. The son of farmers from Alibaug who later moved to Latur, he left a career with an international IT firm in Pune to join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) full-time. Shinde has been a close associate of Abhijeet Dipke since they met in Goa in 2016.

Before quitting his job, Shinde served as AAP's Pimpri-Chinchwad convener. He later spent a year on the party's unsuccessful Goa election campaign before returning to Maharashtra as AAP's social media coordinator and youth wing convener.

In August, Dipke appointed Shinde as CJP’s national organization in-charge. The move sparked controversy when two Gujarat volunteers accused Dipke of favoritism.

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Ranked just below key figures Dipke, Ranka, and Das — who led the July paper leak protests — Shinde’s seniority was confirmed when he was tapped to lead the movement following their detentions.

Ajinkya Shinde is the Cockroach Janta Party’s national organisation in-charge and is regarded as one of the outfit’s key behind-the-scenes strategists. The 35-year-old from Latur, Maharashtra, is a former Aam Aadmi Party associate and has previously led CJP’s Mumbai activities. 

Shinde took charge of the CJP’s protest campaign after founder Abhijeet Dipke, co-conveners Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka were detained by Delhi Police ahead of the party’s planned “Jantar Mantar 2.0” demonstration in the national capital. Dipke announced in a video message that Shinde would lead the agitation until the detained leaders were released. “We will continue our protest tomorrow, day after… until Gyanesh Kumar resigns. We will be on the streets,” Shinde told reporters.

Earlier Shivaji Park case

The fresh call follows legal trouble for the CJP after its October 2 gathering at Shivaji Park. Mumbai Police registered an FIR against Dipke, Ranka, Das, Shinde and more than 400 unidentified persons for allegedly holding an unauthorised assembly, raising slogans and making announcements despite permission for the protest having been denied earlier.

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Police said the earlier gathering took place between 4 pm and 7 pm under the jurisdiction of the Shivaji Park police station.