The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the political parody platform, has gained more than 22.8 million Instagram followers since being set up as a joke last weekend after the Chief Justice of India reportedly compared unemployed young people to ‘cockroaches’
The campaign, which started as a Google Form on social media, had a website with millions of registrations. However, its website can no longer be accessed in the country and it also appears to be down elsewhere. The group’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke, said the ‘iconic website’ of CJP was taken down.
Earlier, CJP’s official X page – with more than 200,000 followers – was also withheld in India. Those trying to open it are shown a message that it has been withheld “in response to a legal demand”.
Dipke, a political communications strategist and student at Boston University in the US, has also claimed both his personal and the group’s Instagram accounts have been hacked.
The CJP – or the cockroach people’s party – satirises the name of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been in power since 2014.
The group calls itself “the voice of the lazy and unemployed”. Its tongue-in-cheek membership criteria include being chronically online and having “the ability to rant professionally”.
Dipke, 30, told Mint earlier that CJP’s popularity was a manifestation of growing discontent among young Indians about the high unemployment rate, and a feeling that they are being ignored by mainstream political parties.
As things stand, a critical question arises about the campaign’s future. Will it fizzle out like other online campaigns or will it continue and convert into a physical movement.
Viral Online Campaign
Last week, Cockroach Janta Party has announced plans to launch a petition demanding the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan, accusing the education system of failing millions of students.
Dipke, who launched the satirical digital movement popularly known as CJP, made the appeal in a new Instagram video that quickly gained traction online.
Dipke addressed his followers in Hindi and urged them to support the petition campaign in large numbers.
“How are you, my cockroaches? Everyone is telling me that I’ve taken the internet by storm. But I think it’s time to do some real work- the reason why we started this. Today, we’re going to launch a petition demanding the Education Minister’s resignation,” Dipke said in the video.
What next for the Cockroach Janta Party?
Well, the CJP has announced its future plans. The campaign, in a post on Instagram, acknowledged that while it began as a satirical voice, it quickly “resonated with crores of young Indians frustrated with systemic issues like paper leaks, unemployment, and a lack of accountability in the system.”
“Cockroaches are the ultimate survivors, thriving in the dark crevices and outlasting every attempt to shut them down. That’s what being young in this country often feels like – mistreated, neglected and overlooked, but never giving up on life,” the post read.
The CJP also attacked the government over the takedown of its X handle, the “incessant attempts by some to hack” all its socials, and the “smear campaigns”, calling them “unfortunate, but not entirely shocking”.
‘An independent, youth-driven movement’
“As the movement continues to grow exponentially with each passing day, there is growing public curiosity around the direction it will take in the days ahead. We want to make it clear – we want to build an independent, youth-driven movement focused on amplifying the concerns of young people and holding the government accountable. Our values align with the Constitution of India. Taking inspiration from our nation’s founders – Gandhi, Ambedkar, Nehru, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, we believe in secularism, democracy and social justice,” the post clarified about the outfit’s ideology.
Over the next few days, the post read, the CJP would collect suggestions from our 22 million+ community and turn the best ideas into focused campaigns.
“Following that, we want to work towards collective structured action,” the post read.
Plea seeks legal action against CJP
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking legal action against Abhijeet Dipke’s “Cockroach Janta Party” over allegations that it misused and commercially exploited verbal observations made by the apex court, according to ANI.
The petition has also called for an independent investigation, preferably by the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI), into claims that individuals posing as advocates with fraudulent degrees are practising law.
“The emergence of entities and symbolic campaigns allegedly using courtroom expressions for publicity, trade applications, commercial engagement, and digital mobilisation demonstrates dangerous commodification of constitutional proceedings”, the plea said.
Key Takeaways
- The CJP has resonated with discontent among young Indians, highlighting the need for political representation.
- The movement’s transition from satire to serious activism signifies the potential of digital platforms in political engagement.
- Challenges faced by CJP, such as account hacking and legal actions, reflect the complexities of grassroots movements in the digital age.
About the Author
Gulam Jeelani
Gulam Jeelani is Political Desk Editor at LiveMint with over 16 years of experience covering national and international politics. Based in New Delhi, Jeelani delivers impactful political narratives through breaking stories, in-depth interviews, and analytical pieces at LiveMint since February 2024. The expertise in video production fuels his current responsibilities, which include curating content and conducting video interviews for an expanding digital audience.
Jeelani also travels during elections and key political events and has covered assembly elections in key states apart from national elections. He has previously worked with The Pioneer, Network18, India Today, News9Plus and Hindustan Times.
Jeelani’s tenure at LiveMint and previous experience at print and digital newsrooms have honed his skills in creating compelling text and video stories, explainers, and analysis that resonate with a diverse viewership.
Before moving to New Delhi in 2015, Jeelani was based in Uttar Pradesh, where he worked for five years as a reporter. In 2018, Jeelani was one of the two Indian journalists selected for the Alfred Friendly Fellowship in the US. There, he attended training workshops on reporting and data journalism, and he was attached to the Minneapolis Star Tribune in Minnesota, where he worked as a reporter.
Jeelani is a Bachelor’s in Chemistry and holds a Masters Degree in journalism and mass communication from Aligarh Muslim University. Outside work, he enjoys poetry, cricket and movies.
