A satirical political movement called the Cockroach Janta Party has taken social media by storm after crossing 9.3 million Instagram followers within just four days of launching its account.
The rapid rise helped the page overtake the Bharatiya Janata Party’s official Instagram handle, making it one of the fastest-growing political-themed accounts in India.
The account, operating under the handle @cockroachjantaparty, hit the massive milestone on May 20 and instantly became one of the most discussed topics online. In comparison, the BJP’s official Instagram account currently has around 8.7 million followers, while Congress stands ahead with nearly 13.2 million followers.
The Cockroach Janta Party first emerged on social media on May 16 as a satirical youth-driven campaign. The movement reportedly gained traction after comments linked to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant triggered discussions online. Soon after, the campaign launched its Instagram page and witnessed explosive growth.
The page describes itself as “a political front of the youth, by the youth, for the youth.” Most of its posts focus on unemployment, paper leak controversies, accountability, and frustration among young Indians. Its sharp humour and meme-style political commentary quickly connected with social media users, especially Gen Z audiences.
The account crossed 3 million followers within just 78 hours before jumping to more than 9 million followers in less than a week. What surprised many users was the fact that the page achieved the milestone with only 56 posts, while established political parties have spent years building their online presence.
After overtaking BJP on Instagram, the page posted a message saying, “Don’t underestimate the power of youth.” In another viral post, it appeared to mock mainstream politics by writing, “World’s largest party they said.”
The movement is also expanding rapidly on X, formerly Twitter, where its account crossed more than 165,000 followers before later being withheld in India following a legal demand notice. The restriction sparked another wave of online debate, with supporters questioning why the account was blocked just as it was gaining momentum.
The founder of the movement, Abhijeet Dipke, has also gained attention online. Reports claim the Boston-educated entrepreneur helped shape the satirical campaign into a viral youth movement that now dominates political conversations on Instagram.
Despite the online buzz, the BJP continues to remain the world’s largest political party by membership, with over 140 million members globally. The party currently leads the National Democratic Alliance government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Still, the sudden rise of the Cockroach Janta Party has shown how quickly social media trends can reshape political conversations in India, especially among younger audiences frustrated with traditional narratives.
