New Delhi, INDIA: In less than five days, the Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical online group named after an insect, has done what India’s mainstream opposition could not: dethrone Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the most followed political entity on Instagram, tapping into a deep well of youth frustration over jobs and inflation.
World’s largest party they said🤭 pic.twitter.com/dT9TOFKZoZ
— Cockroach Janta Party (@CJP_2029) May 20, 2026
The “Cockroach Janta Party” (CJP) has amassed nearly 15 million Instagram followers since its launch, surpassing the BJP’s count of fewer than 9 million, Reuters reported.
The group, whose logo features a cockroach on a mobile phone, calls itself the ‘Voice of the Lazy and Unemployed.’
Origin of the name
Founder Abhijeet Dipke, a 30-year-old based in Boston, said the name was inspired by comments from Chief Justice Surya Kant last week, who compared some unemployed youth to cockroaches. Kant later clarified he was referring to those with “fake and bogus degrees” acting “like parasites.”
“This is a movement to change the political discourse of India,” Dipke said. “The youth of India has largely vanished from mainstream political discourse. Nobody is talking about us.”
The current politics of India has very little to offer GenZ beyond distractions, division, and empty promises.
Why wouldn’t the GenZ be frustrated? pic.twitter.com/IPFmSPmu8d
— Cockroach Janta Party (@CJP_2029) May 20, 2026
Gen Z grievances with humour
The CJP’s Instagram feed features member-created graphics and videos covering media independence, reserving 50% of parliament and cabinet seats for women, and the recent leak of a national medical college entrance exam that affected 2.3 million students.
Economic anxiety in data
The group’s rapid rise mirrors findings from a Deloitte Global survey published this week, which Reuters noted found India’s Gen Z population (born 1995–2007) facing severe financial stress.
Government data shows unemployment at 9.9% among those aged 15–29, rising to 13.6% in urban areas. The survey also revealed that 54% of Gen Z and 44% of millennials have postponed major life decisions like buying homes due to economic worries.
Its 3 million now 😄 https://t.co/I0S35HW7Yw
— Cockroach Janta Party (@CJP_2029) May 20, 2026
Movement or Party?
Dipke cautioned against comparisons with Gen Z-led protests in Bangladesh and Nepal that toppled governments, stating any future action would be “democratic and peaceful” and within constitutional rights. Over 400,000 people have signed up as CJP members via a Google form, with more than 70% aged 19–25.
The party’s four membership standards? Unemployed, lazy, chronically online, and able to “rant professionally.”
Siddharth Kanaujia, a 26-year-old from Lucknow, said, “No one listens to the voice of the youth, the cockroach reflects resilience, coming back strongly after every challenge.”
It’s 1 lakh 60 thousand now.
Just wanted to let you all know. https://t.co/7zR43YUylp
— Cockroach Janta Party (@CJP_2029) May 19, 2026
Meghnad S, a YouTuber who interviewed Dipke about the fledgling party, said that “the joke has taken a life of its own.” He said he has since been flooded with text messages from Gen Z users seeking guidance on how to advance the movement.
“There is an overwhelming sense that people are looking for alternative political formations, not necessarily political parties, but political experiments that are not traditional,” Meghnad added.
