New Delhi: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has projected itself as a citizens’ movement for educational reforms and accountability in government, is increasingly drawing political attention, even as its founder Abhijeet Dipke maintains the CJP has no electoral ambitions, and its only agenda is seeking reform.
Dipke has repeatedly rejected the CJP’s comparisons with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which emerged from the India Against Corruption movement before entering electoral politics. The CJP is a student-led campaign, Dipke has maintained.
However, the movement’s latest outreach to political parties has fuelled speculation over whether it is acquiring a political colour.
When ThePrint spoke to Dipke earlier this month, he said the movement was not dependent on political parties. Asked whether the absence of Opposition leaders and thinning crowds had disappointed him, Dipke had said, “We are not relying on any political parties to carry this movement forward; this movement is by the students.”
He, however, added that he hoped all political parties would put aside their differences and unite for the students’ cause. His latest appeal to all parties to join his protest builds on that position.
Dipke has invited all political parties, including BJP members, to join the agitation, while urging them to come with the Tiranga and not their party flags.
The invitation came even as BJP national president Nitin Nabin took an indirect swipe at the movement during a speech in Telangana.
“New virus and cockroach-like parties are emerging in the country with the aim to destroy it… They are the ones who want to break the country into pieces, and BJP workers will teach them a lesson,” he said.
Despite its growing online popularity, the movement has not received formal backing from any major political party.
The CJP’s first protest at Jantar Mantar on 6 June was attended by CPI leader Annie Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and climate activist Sonam Wangchuk. According to sources, the movement was also discussed at an INDIA bloc meeting after Bhattacharya raised the issue.
On Tuesday, CPI general secretary D. Raja, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby and senior CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat also attended the protest at Jantar Mantar.
Several Opposition leaders have also publicly endorsed the movement’s demands without formally joining the agitation.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal backed the CJP’s central demand of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, saying the movement reflected widespread anger among students over repeated examination controversies and incidents of paper leaks.
Please note. https://t.co/EEj16kxACr
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) June 29, 2026
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Rohit Pawar have also voiced support for the protesters.
The Congress, too, has supported the issues raised by the movement while maintaining organisational distance from the protest.
Also Read: Why Delhi Police photographers at Cockroach Party protest wore orange vests, body cameras
‘Crowd not only measure of success’
Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi told ThePrint that the success of a protest should not be measured solely by the size of the crowd.
“Times have changed,” Singhvi said, arguing that the movement had generated significant traction online and reflected genuine dissatisfaction among young people over the education system.
However, the Congress has not officially endorsed the Cockroach Janta Party’s agitation. Instead, its student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and the Indian Youth Congress have organised separate protests over examination-related issues rather than joining the sit-in at Jantar Mantar.
Political scientist Chandrachur Singh said the movement’s outreach to political parties should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of electoral ambitions.
“The central demand is the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. Student organisations such as SFI and AISA have their own political affiliations. If the movement wants this demand to be raised inside Parliament, it is only natural that it will seek support from political parties,” he said.
Singh further also said that the movement’s objective appeared to be securing political backing for its demands rather than transforming itself into a political party.
“They have been consistent in saying that they want accountability and the minister’s resignation. Seeking support from political parties does not necessarily mean they have a political agenda. They may want legislators to raise the issue inside Parliament. That is different from entering electoral politics,” he said. “Even if they eventually choose to do so, I don’t see them emerging as a major political force, and if they do later want to get into politics they will have to change their name.”
For now, the Cockroach Janta Party continues to describe itself as a citizens’ movement. But with some political leaders turning up at its protests, parties across the Opposition backing its demands, and Dipke himself inviting all parties to join the agitation, the movement risks being labelled a political campaign.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: At Jantar Mantar, Cockroach Janata Party protest settles into a simmer as demands stay unchanged