'94% audience from India': Cockroach Janta Party founder rejects BJP's Pakistani-followers charge

NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday rejected BJP leaders’ claims that nearly half of the party’s social media followers were from Pakistan. The internet-based movement, which recently went viral and gained traction among young users, has now become the centre of a political controversy.The Cockroach Janta Party rapidly emerged as one of the country’s newest online sensations, drawing attention through memes and commentary around unemployment, education policy and alleged examination paper leaks.Also read: Cockroach Janta Party website taken down: Founder Abhijeet Dipke calls govt 'dictatorial'Refuting the BJP’s allegations, Dipke shared a screenshot of audience analytics on X and wrote, “This is the screen recording of our audience demographic which we have shared with media before our account was hacked.”Claiming that the majority of the audience was Indian, he added, “More than 94% of the audience is from India.” He then questioned, “Why is a Union minister Kiren Rijiju labelling Indian youth as Pakistani?”Earlier, Union minister Kiren Rijiju in a strongly worded post targeting the Cockroach Janta Party, wrote, “I pity those who seek their followers in social media from Pakistan & George Soros gang.”BJP leader and Union minister Sukanta Majumdar also alleged that the platform had significant Pakistani engagement. Speaking to reporters, he claimed, “49 per cent followers of ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ on social media are from Pakistan, while only 9 per cent are from India.”The BJP’s remarks came amid growing controversy surrounding the digital campaign, which went viral last week. Kerala BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged that the CJP was part of a “classic cross-border influence operation” aimed at destabilising India and targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government.Also read: '49% followers from Pakistan': BJP claims Cockroach Janta Party holds only 9% support from India“In the age of social media, bots, AI and its weaponisation, influence operations are dangerous, effective ways to destabilise by building fake, seemingly organic narratives,” Chandrasekhar said in a post on X.He further alleged that sections of the opposition were amplifying the campaign and claimed that India’s rise under PM Modi had triggered resentment among “foreign vested interests”.“I have always maintained India’s rise and its modernisation under PM Narendra Modi will be resented by many countries, and there will be many hurdles created for our continued rise,” he said.Chandrasekhar also defended the Modi government’s record during global crises. “No cockroach, no petty Indian opposition politician, no Modi-hating joker, no foreign vested interest can stop India’s resolve to build a Viksit Bharat,” he added.The ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ trend surfaced after controversy over remarks allegedly made by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant during a hearing on a plea seeking senior designation for a lawyer. Abhijeet Dipke has alleged that the movement has since faced coordinated action across multiple social media platforms.