How long does it take to launch a political party? If you have spent any time on social media this Sunday, you possibly know the answer: about 48 hours.
The Cockroach Janta Party, which was formed overnight with the help of some AI prompts and a good Canva design, now has a Constitution, a five-point manifesto, a website and 40,000 members and counting. It started with a comment from the Chief Justice of India.
On May 15, Chief Justice Surya Kant was hearing what he would later describe as a frivolous petition, a lawyer filing yet another challenge over senior advocate designations at the Delhi High Court. In dismissing it, the CJI's frustration widened into something larger. The young people who "attacked the system," he said, were those who had failed to find stable employment in law or elsewhere, and had turned instead to journalism, social media, and RTI applications.
He called them cockroaches. He also called them, for good measure, "parasites of society".
"There are youths who are like cockroaches, who do not get any employment… they go on to become media, social media and RTI activists and start attacking the system.", CJI Surya Kant, Supreme Court of India, May 15, 2026
The remark travelled from courtroom transcripts to timelines within hours, and went on to shape the manifesto of the newly formed Cockroach Janta Party.
Is It Really A Political Party?
The Cockroach Janta Party was founded by Abhijeet Dipke, whose bio now reads, Founding President- Cockroach Janta Party. Dipke has over 26,000 followers on X where he has been vocal on political and economic issues. There is no publicly available information on his affiliations or profession.
On Saturday, his first post on the subject read, "Launching a new platform for all the 'cockroaches' out there. If you wish to join, hit the link below."
The eligibility criteria were listed as: unemployed, lazy, chronically online, and possessing an ability to rant professionally. Membership, the party clarified, carried no checks on religion, caste, or gender.
A political party, then, crawled out of timelines, comment sections, and meme pages.
Within forty-eight hours, what started as an online joke had a constitution, a manifesto, 40,000 members, and its own website.
The AI-generated symbol of the party, which depicts a cockroach on a mobile screen, was unveiled on Sunday, against the backdrop of a song, ‘Take a step now’. The video has garnered over 115k views till now.
The website — cockroachjantaparty.org — is spare with white background and minimal text. The header reads: COCKROACH JANTA PARTY. Below it, the tagline: "Voice of the Lazy & Unemployed." The party describes itself as one "for the people the system forgot to count. Five demands. Zero sponsors. One large, stubborn swarm."
The website also has a membership form. It asks for a name, contact details, and an X handle. It then asks the applicant to confirm three things: Are you lazy? Are you chronically online? Do you identify as a cockroach — as defined by the Chief Justice of India?
In India, registering a political party requires an application to the Election Commission of India under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The party must submit its constitution, a list of office-bearers, and an affidavit confirming it will abide by the Constitution of India — including its commitments to socialism, secularism, and democracy. A minimum membership threshold and a registered address are also required.
The Cockroach Janta Party, for now, has none of these. What it does have is a website, a manifesto, and a swarm.
By Sunday evening, the tone started shifting slowly. The party was describing itself as "a political front of the youth, by the youth, for the youth — Secular, Socialist, Democratic, and Lazy." It was floating the idea of a digital convention, a march of the unemployed, and a GenZ National Convention.
The CJP's vision reads, "We are not here to set up another PM CARES, holiday in Davos on the taxpayer's salary slip, or rebrand corruption as "strategic spending". We are here to ask — loudly, repeatedly, in writing — where the money went.”
The manifesto
The CJP manifesto was created shortly after the party was founded, with suggestions reflecting the evolving version of the manifesto in real-time. The party proposed that if it were to come to power, it would ensure that post-retirement Chief Justices would not be appointed to the Rajya Sabha. If any legitimate vote is cancelled in any one of the states, then, according to the manifesto, the Chief Election Commissioner will be charged with UAPA, as seizing the right to vote is equal to “an act of terror”.
The party promised that the Women’s Reservation Bill would be implemented with a 50% reservation for women, instead of the current 33%, with no increase in the size of Parliament.
A few hours after the manifesto was shared, two more suggestions from users made it to the list. All Adani and Ambani-owned media outlets will have their licenses revoked and accounts of “Godi media anchors” will be audited. Furthermore, any defection by an MLA or an MP will result in a lifetime ban from holding public office, along with a twenty-year ban from contesting elections.
RTI activist Anjali Bhardwaj also proposed three additional suggestions, which the CJP quickly agreed to: The party would be entirely accountable to the RTI Act, it would not accept anonymous donations or electoral bonds, and it would not establish a secret Cockroach CARES Fund.
The Gen Z Recommendations
The comment sections filled quickly. Some users thanked the CJI for "uniting the youth." Others submitted suggestions: "No towel on government babu chairs." "TV channels to not have more than two 'experts' on panels."
One user shared what they called a GenZ anthem, with the lyric: "Kill us and we rise again. From the gutters, from the stain."
The party's Five-Point Agenda for 2029 post on X garnered over 2,700 reposts and 400 comments. Videos surfaced of young men cleaning garbage dumps and shallow water bodies, placards around their necks reading: I am a cockroach.
The interest soon extended beyond social media. TMC leader and former cricketer Kirti Azad posted publicly asking what qualifications were required to join. The CJP responded: "Winning the 1983 World Cup is a good enough qualification." MP Mahua Moitra made her own request and was welcomed with: "You are the fighter democracy needs, Mahua Moitra. Welcome to CJP."
The page crossed 15,000 followers on X within twenty-four hours. By the time the numbers stopped being updated publicly, membership had crossed 40,000.
The clarification that followed
The day after the remark went viral, CJI Surya Kant issued a statement saying the media had misquoted him. What he had specifically criticised, he explained, were those who had entered the legal profession using fake degrees and not the country's youth at large. Such persons, he said, had "sneaked into media, social media, and other noble professions" and were therefore like parasites.
"Not only am I proud of our present and future human resource, but every youth of India inspires me. I see them as the pillars of a developed India," he said.
CJP founder Dipke condemned this response on X as he sarcastically wrote, “I have my differences with the PM but I believe the CJI has no right to insult him. Not having a legitimate degree does not give anyone the right to call fellow citizens 'parasites.'"
What the Cockroach Janta Party has achieved—in under forty-eight hours, with no party office and no formal organisational structure—is to convert a remark made in court into a digital political movement.
The party may not exist on paper, but its opposition has begun to take shape.
As the movement gained traction online, some users began linking it to existing political parties. On X, a section of users described the CJP as affiliated with the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party. Calling it an “AAP venture”, one user suggested it was yet another attempt to occupy opposition space.
Others drew parallels with the 2011 India Against Corruption movement, calling it a similar early stage mobilisation ahead of a larger political shift. The official X account of the All India Congress Volunteers Committee echoed this narrative by sharing an AI-generated video depicting a cockroach being crushed under a shoe. The caption of the video read, “They fooled us in 2011. They are back again.”
A few posts also alleged that the founder is backed by political cells associated with parties such as the TMC and Congress.
Responses to these claims have been mixed. Comment sections are torn between users who back the theory of it being politically motivated against those who see it as an organic, internet-driven movement. Those supporting the former have shared Dipke’s past social media posts where he has supported Kejriwal and mocked Rahul Gandhi’s foreign trips.
While others support it as an endeavour to “galvanise youth” beyond party politics.
