Neha Bora has become the face of the Jantar Mantar 2.0 protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. The 29-year-old JNU scholar leads the movement seeking his resignation. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke praised her, saying, "I agree." Bora started her activism in college and now fights for electoral transparency alongside many others.
Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and student groups associated with left-leaning political parties are continuing their protests, seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged mass voter deletion during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. While Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of (CJP), and spokesperson Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka made the initial headlines on October 10, the first day of the protest, another person has become the face of the demonstration.
Who is Neha Bora?
Neha Bora, the national president of the All India Students' Association (AISA), the students' wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, or CPI(ML), first made headlines in July for her 23-day-long fast along with activist Sonam Wangchuk and others seeking the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Neha Bora's education
The 29-year-old is a PhD scholar at JNU's School of Arts and Aesthetics. Bora completed her BA from Delhi University and her MA from Ambedkar University.Neha Bora's familyBorn in Khatima, Uttarakhand, her father served in the Indian Army, while her mother is a homemaker. In various interviews, Bora has claimed that her family is staunch supporters of the BJP and that her different political path has resulted in deep ideological disagreements at home.Neha Bora's journey into activism
According to Bora, her journey into activism began during her undergraduate years at Delhi University when she began performing with a street theatre group called Sangwari. She also claims to have actively participated in the 2019-2020 student-led protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Face of Jantar Mantar 2.0
As Bora continues to lead the protest against CIC, even fellow activists have agreed that the firebrand student leader is the face of the movement. Most notably, CJP founder Dipke responded to a post on X that stated, "Maturity is realizing Neha Bora is more talented than Abhijeet Dipke. A complete Gen Z icon with an absolutely ridiculous aura," saying, "I agree."
Bora responded to Dipke with, "Solidarity, not comparison. We fight this together."
Activist Yogendra Yadav also recently praised Bora, who termed him, Prashant Bhushan, and Kapil Sibal as "our heroes", adding that "I hope that when we are your age, we are as strong and steadfast as you all!
Quoting the post, Yadav wrote, "Honestly, when I was your age, I didn't have half the courage and resolve that you have displayed. Walking with you gives us strength and hope! You are a star."
On Saturday, as top CJP leaders were detained upon arrival at the Delhi Airport and the police made it nearly impossible for supporters to reach Jantar Mantar, Bora declared that Dilli Haat in INA would be the new protest site, forcing cops to scramble and detain her along with other activists.