India’s newest satirical political outfit, the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), has overtaken the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Instagram. The meme-driven political satire movement, launched only four days ago, claimed on Wednesday that it had crossed 10.1 million followers on Instagram, surpassing the BJP’s 8.7 million followers on the platform. Celebrating the milestone, the party posted, “It took just 4 days. Don’t underestimate the power of the youth.” Founder Abhijeet Dipke also mocked the BJP’s long-standing claim of being the “world’s largest party,” writing on X, “World’s largest party they said.”
How the Cockroach Janata Party Began
The Cockroach Janata Party emerged after controversial remarks attributed to Chief Justice Surya Kant, in which some unemployed youth were allegedly compared to “cockroaches” and “parasites.” The remarks triggered widespread backlash across social media platforms.
World’s largest party they said🤭 pic.twitter.com/Yogr9Ig0GM
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) May 20, 2026
What initially started as an ironic internet reaction quickly transformed into a viral online movement.
The party openly identifies itself as satire and describes itself as the “Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed.” However, beneath its humour and meme-heavy presentation lies a broader critique of unemployment, institutional elitism, political privilege and growing frustration among young people.
CJP’s Manifesto and Political Messaging
CJPs manifesto includes:
No post-retirement Rajya Sabha seats for Chief Justices
Strict action against deletion of valid votes
Electoral bans for legislators who defect from parties
Action against misinformation by media organisations
Greater representation for women in governance
Big Names Support Cockroach Janta Party
The movement has also attracted attention from established political figures. Trinamool Congress MPs Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad had previously interacted with the movement online, further amplifying its visibility.
Despite CJP’s massive Instagram following, the BJP continues to remain India’s most powerful political organisation in electoral and organisational terms. Congress has more social media followers than the BJP and still performs very poorly in elections.
A New Satirical Political Formation: National Parasitic Front
Following the rise of the Cockroach Janata Party, another satirical formation has emerged online under the name National Parasitic Front (NPF).
Its messaging portrays “parasites” as citizens attempting to survive within a broken system. Much like the CJP, the NPF uses parody to channel anger over unemployment, institutional disconnect and political privilege.
Describing itself officially, the organisation states, “Born as the formal opposition to the Cockroach Janta Party and every ecosystem of inertia they represent, the National Parasitic Front is a movement of citizens who refuse to accept governance-as-theatre. We are serious about criminal-free Parliament. Serious about educated representatives. Serious about roads that don’t become rivers and Wi-Fi that doesn’t require eleven fire hydrant CAPTCHAs to pay an electricity bill.”
The group’s website further explains the reasoning behind its unusual name, stating:
“We attach ourselves to a broken system, not to feed off it, but to force it to change from within.”
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
