“The youth are really frustrated, and the government is not acknowledging their concerns,” Dipke said.
Dipke told Reuters news agency that, “The youth of India has largely vanished from the mainstream political discourse. Nobody is talking about us. Nobody is listening to our issues or even trying to acknowledge our existence.“
The pressures are especially acute in India, where youth make up more than a quarter of the population, yet many young people face scarce job opportunities, persistent unemployment and growing frustration with traditional political parties.
Many young voters are also angry with Modi’s ruling Hindu nationalist party over issues including rising religious polarisation, widening inequality and economic pressures.
Dipke, however, cautioned against comparisons with Gen Z-led street protests in neighbouring Bangladesh and Nepal that have ousted governments and declined to say whether there were plans to form a Gen Z political party.
“It has the potential to turn into a big political movement, it has the potential to change the politics of India,” he said.
“And whatever we do, we will do within the rights of the constitution. We will do it in a very democratic and peaceful way. It won’t be something like we saw in Nepal or Bangladesh.”
Absurdist rules and a serious subtext
The CJP leans heavily into self-mockery.
Its tongue-in-cheek membership criteria include being unemployed, lazy, chronically online and capable of ranting professionally.
Its manifesto uses satire to address several contentious issues in Indian politics, including opposition allegations of voter manipulation, criticism of the relationship between corporate media and the government, and the appointment of retired judges to official posts.
Some opponents, many of them Modi supporters, have dismissed it as an online political gimmick aligned with the opposition, citing Dipke’s past association with the Aam Aadmi Party. They also say that the surge in popularity is likely to fade as quickly as it emerged, arguing that it’s a digital campaign rather than a grassroots movement.
But Dipke said what began online was unlikely to remain confined to social media.
“This is the movement that has arrived in India … it will change the political discourse,” he said. “It will continue online, and if required, it will also come on the ground.”
“I really like the Cockroach Janta Party because in this country no one listens to the voice of the youth and there are not enough jobs for young people,” said Siddharth Kanaujia, a 26-year-old from the northern city of Lucknow who has signed up to become a CJP member.
“But the party talks in the interest of the youth and raises the right issues The cockroach reflects resilience, coming back strongly after every challenge.”
Pushback begins as parody spreads offline
The movement has already begun to slowly spill offline, with some young volunteers appearing at protests dressed as cockroaches.
So has the apparent pushback.
On Thursday, Dipke wrote on X that the CJP’s account on the platform, which had around 200,000 followers, had been withheld in India, marking one of the first visible restrictions of the rapidly growing parody movement. The reason wasn’t immediately clear.
Minutes later, Dipke announced a new account for the group, alongside a poster reading “Cockroach is back.”
The post added: “You thought you can get rid of us? Lol.”
