ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Meet the Boston grad behind India’s viral ‘Cockroach’ youth party
A satirical online movement launched after controversial remarks by an Indian Supreme Court judge has rapidly turned into one of India’s biggest youth-led social media phenomena.
-
Malvika Choudhary - Fri, 22, May 2026
- 17:54 EDT
- 41
Abhijeet Dipke/ Cockroach Janta Party / Instagram/ Cockroach Janta Party
Indian politics has found an unlikely new symbol—the cockroach—and the man behind it is a recent graduate student of Boston University.
Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old Indian political communication strategist who recently completed a master’s degree in public relations at Boston University, is the founder of the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP, a satirical online political collective that has exploded across Indian social media within days.
Also Read: UCLA physicist Anshul Kogar named 2026 Brown Investigator
Dipke, originally from Maharashtra, studied journalism in Pune before moving to the United States for higher education. Before launching the CJP, he worked with the social media and election campaign machinery of the Aam Aadmi Party between 2020 and 2023, where he reportedly handled meme-based digital campaigning during the party’s successful 2020 Delhi Assembly election campaign led by Arvind Kejriwal.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Dipke has spent nearly a decade working in political communication, narrative building and digital strategy, focusing on online public engagement and youth outreach.
Now, he has unexpectedly become the face of one of India’s fastest-growing internet movements.
The Cockroach Janta Party emerged after controversial remarks made during a May 15 Supreme Court hearing by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who referred to some unemployed youth as “cockroaches” and “parasites” while criticizing individuals entering the legal profession through what he later described as “fake and bogus degrees.”
The remarks triggered widespread backlash online, especially among young Indians frustrated by unemployment, competitive exam controversies and economic uncertainty.
Dipke responded the next day with a post on X announcing a “new platform for all the cockroaches.”
“Eligibility criteria—unemployed, lazy, chronically online and ability to rant professionally,” he wrote, attaching a Google form inviting people to join the initiative.
The post quickly went viral.
Within days, the Cockroach Janta Party transformed from online parody into a sprawling digital movement fueled by memes, satire and Gen Z political frustration. Its Instagram following reportedly crossed 19 million, while its X account amassed more than 200,000 followers before becoming inaccessible in India following a legal demand.
The movement’s slogan—"I am also a cockroach”—soon spread across Indian social media, with influencers, activists and politicians joining the trend through memes, reels and commentary posts.
The CJP describes itself as “a political party for the people the system forgot to count” and the “voice of the lazy and unemployed.”
Its online content blends humor with political messaging, focusing heavily on unemployment, education, governance and examination paper leaks. Some supporters have even organized public cleaning drives while wearing cockroach symbols on their clothing.
Dipke has described the CJP as more than a joke platform, calling it an effort to encourage political participation and civic engagement among young Indians.
The group has also launched a website outlining its manifesto, vision and membership criteria. Among its proposals are increasing women’s reservation in Parliament from 33 percent to 55 percent and introducing stricter accountability measures for election authorities.
One manifesto point reads: “If the CJP comes in power, no Chief Justice shall be granted a Rajya Sabha seat as a post-retirement reward.”
The Cockroach Janta Party’s rapid rise has highlighted how internet culture, memes and political satire are increasingly shaping youth political expression in India.
In less than a week, a creature associated with survival and resilience has become an unlikely emblem of digital-age dissent.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
Related
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
E Paper
Video
Comments
Start the conversation
Become a member of New India Abroad to start commenting.
Sign Up Now
Already have an account? Login