top of page

By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

CJP attracts 1.5 cr; new politics shaping up

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...

CJP attracts 1.5 cr; new politics shaping up

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.

People praise Army for protecting

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah interacts with displaced border residents at a shelter camp.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah interacts with displaced border residents at a shelter camp.

Garkhal (J&K): Men and machines of the armed forces worked meticulously to ensure the interception of Kamikaze drones and missiles fired by Pakistani troops targeting Jammu, drawing widespread appreciation from people.


India on Thursday night swiftly thwarted Pakistan's fresh attempts to strike military sites with drones and missiles, including in Jammu and Pathankot, after foiling similar bids at 15 locations across the country's northern and western regions, amid a military conflict between the two neighbours.


Looking after the operational area of Jammu under the command of the 9 Corps, the 26 Infantry Division, nicknamed the "Tiger Division", had put in place a robust air-defence system, virtually carving out an Israel-type Iron Dome to protect Jammu from a Hamas-style attack by Pakistan.


An official who was privy to the developments said it was a meticulous combination of men and machines in defence that thwarted such a massive Pakistani attack.


In the dead of night, Pakistan unleashed its most audacious assault on Jammu since the 1971 war, deploying a swarm of more than a hundred Kamikaze drones and missiles in a sinister attempt to devastate the city. But what followed was a show of unmatched precision, courage and resilience.


"We are indebted to our armed forces who have saved Jammu from a major attack by Pakistan. We appreciate them for their missionary work. We never thought these bombs could be neutralised in the air," Garkhal resident Sikender Singh said.


Singh, whose family, along with more than 500 villagers, has shifted to safer camps set up by the government in Mishriwala on the Jammu outskirts, said had the bombs not been intercepted, they could have caused massive deaths and destruction.


Finest system

The Army, backed by one of the world's finest air-defence systems, intercepted the aerial barrage with astonishing accuracy -- virtually every hostile object was destroyed mid-air. Not a single vital installation was touched. Not a single civilian life was lost.


"Eight missiles from Pakistan were directed at Satwari, Samba, R S Pura and Arnia. All were intercepted and blocked by air-defence units. Visuals over Jammu reminded exactly of a Hamas-style attack on Israel, like multiple cheap rockets," an Army official said.


He said the Pakistan Army is operating and behaving like Hamas. "Drones were sighted at multiple places along the western front -- confirmed to be hostile. They are being effectively engaged by our air-defence systems. Pakistani drone attacks have been reported at various locations along the western borders and are being effectively countered by the Indian armed forces," he added.


The multi-tier air-defence system, with a twin technological security architecture of Russian and Israeli surface-to-air missile setups and the indigenous Akash, was a game changer against such attacks.


Former Jammu and Kashmir director general of police S P Vaid appreciated the armed forces and their technological security systems for effectively dealing with the Pakistani attacks.


He said 50 to 60 air attacks by Pakistan over Jammu and other places were neutralised on Thursday night by the impregnable air-defence system of the country.


Comments

bottom of page