Gen-Z Group 'Cockroach Janta Party' Surges Past BJP on Instagram, Sparks Bot and Foreign Influence Debate

Cockroach Janta Party followers: A new Gen-Z group, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), has rapidly gained millions of Instagram followers, surpassing the ruling BJP. However, social media users claim a significant portion of its audience is from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Turkey, sparking debate over bot activity and foreign influence. The CJP's X account was recently withheld due to national security concerns.

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a six-day-old group that channels Gen-Z concerns, has gone immensely viral online, overtaking the Instagram followers of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The growing attention towards the CJP has become a talking point with netizens pointing to overseas audience. Social media users are claiming that large sections of its followers are based in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Turkey.

The massive influx of followers has triggered scrutiny, with many pointing to potential bot activity from abroad. Many online users are also claiming that the follower count of CJP is indeed surging on Instagram, it is not seeing a proportional increase on X.

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Pakistan angle in Cockroach Janta Party popularity

Several social media users are claiming that a majority of CJP's followers may be based outside India, particularly Pakistan. Screenshots and videos shared on Instagram and X appeared to show follower analytics listing countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey among the top audience locations.

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Some users alleged that Indian followers made up only a small portion of the total audience, although these claims have not been independently verified. The debate has triggered strong political reactions online, with critics questioning how a newly-created satire page managed to gain millions of followers within just a few days. So far, neither Meta nor Instagram has released any official data regarding the geographical distribution of the account’s followers.

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Netizens raise questions over follower growth

Several social media users also speculated that a portion of the followers could be bot or inactive accounts, citing the unusually rapid rise in the page’s popularity. However, these allegations have also not been independently verified yet and an official statement is awaited.

One user on X claimed, “Citizens from Pakistan, Bangladesh & USA forms 77% of their Insta followers. India contributes only 9%.” "Now, People have understood the game. CJP told everyone to unfollow BJP. BJP's followers immediately increased by 1 lakh #CockroachJantaParty has maximum followers from Pakistan, Bangladesh Turkey USA," wrote another.

"The CJP’s Instagram followers — roughly 63% of them are from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Only 9% are from India, which is a concerning and unfortunate thing. This is because, in India, people who support Pakistan and Bangladesh make up around 15%," wrote another netizen.

Others alleged that backers of political groups such as Indian National Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, and Social Democratic Party of India were promoting the Cockroach Janata Party. No independent evidence supporting these figures or claims has been publicly produced.

Cockroach Janta Party X account back

The X account of CJP was withheld on Thursday following a direction from the Centre in the wake of inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that raised “national security concerns,” a senior government official told The Indian Express. Its founder, Abhijeet Dipke announced that he had started a new account named ‘Cockroach Is Back’ on X.

The CJP is a satirical political movement founded on 16 May by Abhijeet Dipke, former political strategist for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The platform was started in response to CJI Surya Kant’s comment describing young, unemployed Indians as “cockroaches”. Later, the CJI issued a clarification saying that the media “misquoted” him.

The movement became an internet sensation, garnering over 14.5 million followers on Instagram, surpassing BJP’s 8.8 million follower count. Several other accounts using the ‘cockroach’ nomenclature remain active on X. These include ‘The Cockroach Youth’, ‘Cockroach News’, ‘IAmCockroach’, ‘Cockroach Party of India’ and ‘Cockroach Janata Party (Gen Z)’.

Politicians, including TMC leaders Mahua Moitra and Kirti Azad, engaged with or expressed interest in the movement, alongside activists such as Prashant Bhushan and Anjali Bharadwaj. What began as an online satire project has soon evolved into a wider conversation about contemporary protest and the role of humour and meme culture in it.

(With agency inputs)