Cockroach Janata Party sees explosive growth on Instagram
The Cockroach Janata Party has crossed 6.1 million followers on Instagram within just five days of its launch, emerging as one of the fastest-growing political satire pages on Indian social media.
FYI pic.twitter.com/XCkclwy50K
— Cockroach Janta Party (@CJP_2029) May 19, 2026
The page also gained around 1.26 lakh followers on X by Wednesday evening. Reports said more than 3 million users followed the Instagram account in a single day.
The movement began after controversy surrounding remarks allegedly linked to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant about unemployed youth.
“Young people online wanted a common platform to express frustration and humour together,” founder Abhijeet Deepke said while explaining the idea behind the page.
How the online movement started
The page was created by Abhijeet Deepke, a public relations student at Boston University.
On May 15, several media reports claimed that the CJI had compared some unemployed youth to cockroaches during a hearing. However, the Chief Justice later clarified that he had not made such remarks.
Following the controversy, Deepke started the page as an online protest and satire platform. He said conversations with Gen Z users on X encouraged him to turn the idea into a larger movement.
Deepke had earlier volunteered with the social media team of Aam Aadmi Party between 2020 and 2023.
Manifesto and slogan go viral
The page quickly gained attention for its satirical posts, digital manifesto and slogan: “Secular, Socialist, Democratic, Lazy.”
The manifesto includes promises related to women’s reservation, electoral reforms and restrictions on political defections.
The creators also released a logo that has been widely shared across Instagram and X. Meme creators and young users amplified the page through reels, comments and parody content.
Instagram numbers trigger political debate
The sharp rise in followers has sparked discussions around youth dissatisfaction, internet culture and digital political engagement.
Publicly visible Instagram figures show that the account of Bharatiya Janata Party has around 8.7 million followers, while Indian National Congress has approximately 13.2 million followers.
Observers say the sudden popularity of meme-based political platforms reflects the growing influence of social media communities in shaping public conversations.
