Cockroach Janta Party: How a CJI Remark Sparked a Viral Movement

Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Boston University postgraduate, launched a satirical political party called the Cockroach Janta Party on May 16, the day after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant drew criticism for his “cockroach” remark. The remark, which Kant later clarified was aimed at fake-degree holders in law and media, not unemployed youth, became the catalyst for a social media phenomenon.

Dipke posted a Google Form on X, inviting registrations for the party with eligibility criteria including “unemployed,” “lazy,” and “chronically online.” The first post read: “Launching a new platform for all the ‘cockroaches’ out there.” Within hours, the form received over 15,000 sign-ups. As of May 21, Dipke told LiveMint, the party had six lakh registrations (600,000). Its Instagram page now has 9 million followers, surpassing the Bharatiya Janata Party’s count, while its X account has 179,000 followers.

The party pitches itself as “the voice of the lazy and unemployed.” Dipke said the response proved that Indian youth feel frustrated and excluded from politics. “The statement made by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India was just a trigger,” he said. The movement has also drawn attention from political leaders; Trinamool Congress members Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad expressed willingness to join.

Dipke, who completed a master’s in public relations at Boston University, previously volunteered with the Aam Aadmi Party’s social media team from 2020 to 2022, where he was the architect of AAP’s meme-driven campaign ahead of the 2020 Delhi assembly elections. He now plans to return to India to decide the movement’s future. “I have a lot of pressure. I get hundreds of messages. I cannot disappoint those who have responded,” he said. “We have 80,000+ sign-ups. It can’t be left as such.”