Mumbai: Not from kitchen sinks, toilets or gutters — these two-legged ‘roaches’ have swarmed Social Media in millions through memes, live-streams, rap anthems and viral posts… and the country has begun taking note. On May 16, an unemployed youth, Abhijeet Dipke from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar - currently job-hunting in Boston, USA, grabbed national attention after launching a digital platform called the “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP), pitched as a democratic movement “of the youth, for the youth, by the youth” targeting disillusioned Gen-Z Indians. To Dipke’s own surprise, the announcement exploded online. Within days, CJP has amassed nearly 1.5-crore followers on Instagram, over 40-lakh across other platforms, more than three-lakh registered members, and counting - despite allegations of account suspensions and restrictions. Ironically, CJP’s online numbers are being compared with the social media reach of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition Indian National Congress - overtaking both, leaving political circles both amused and unsettled. On Thursday, at least one major social media platform briefly suspended the party’s accounts, while CJP supporters alleged hacking attempts on others. Yet, within hours, the page resurfaced with a sarcastic: “You thought you could get rid of us? LOL! Cockroach is back!” After flexing its digital muscle, the fledgling week-old outfit unveiled a basic charter of demands-cum-mini manifesto, along with a tickly political slogan: “Abki Baar, Cockroach Sarkar,” and aimed to capture “400-plus seats” in the next Lok Sabha elections. The CJP’s first political salvo was directed at Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged NEET examination paper leak controversy. “Governments make mistakes, but students pay the price. What kind of system is this? Why has the Education Minister not been sacked? Where is the accountability?” Dipke thundered from Boston during an online media interaction. The CJP’s memes have become a star attraction. One depicts a swaggering political cockroach dressed in Gandhi topi, kurta, angavastram and chappals before Parliament House; another shows a suited-booted cockroach delivering a corporate speech; yet another portrays giant roaches marching amid restless crowds. In one provocative graphic, a cocky cockroach is seen gleefully chewing up a giant lotus and relishing it - a not-so-subtle political jab. Dipke has proclaimed himself as the “Cockroach” and ditto with his followers, transforming the usually reviled six-legged arthropod into an unlikely mascot of survival and resistance. His legion of fans gleefully remind how cockroaches, believed to have existed for over 300 million years, can survive pesticides, extreme conditions and even nuclear disasters, besides online attacks! “The biggest complaint among young people is that nobody listens to them, nobody talks to them, and nobody even acknowledges their existence. And now they are being compared to cockroaches and parasites. Naturally, the youth are angry with the system,” Dipke said. A media strategist who reportedly worked for a couple of years with the Aam Aadmi Party, Dipke says the CJP plans to crowdsource its political agenda by asking supporters what issues the movement should prioritise and how citizens can collectively push for systemic change. ‘Cockroaches’ want to swarm Parliament The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)’s anti-establishment rap anthem, pointed memes and online campaigns revolve around corruption, pollution, propaganda, unemployment and collapsing public systems that have left large sections of India’s youth disillusioned, angry and politically alienated. Its wishlist includes free world-class education, universal healthcare, clean rivers, safe drinking water, breathable air, and greater media accountability - promises that traditional political parties have made for decades, but which suddenly sound radical when articulated by self-styled “cockroaches” claiming to survive every form of rot and decay. Though many dismiss the CJP as a digital gimmick, some political observers believe this sudden rise of ‘cockroaches’ reflects growing public frustration not just with the ruling establishment, but also with the Opposition.
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