Telangana: Fear of increase in followers of Cockroach Party

Hyderabad: The sudden rise of the viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on social media has triggered widespread speculation online, with many users questioning whether its accounts are being “follow-botted” to artificially boost popularity.

The satirical political movement, launched only days ago, crossed millions of Instagram followers in record time, even overtaking major Indian political parties online.

Several Reddit users and social media commentators have pointed to the unusually rapid growth as a reason for suspicion. Some claimed that gaining over five million followers within a few days appeared “unnatural”, while others alleged that fake or foreign accounts may be inflating the numbers.

“They gained millions of followers, but barely anyone likes their posts. It’s a clear indication of follow botting”, a Reddit user wrote.

Many others have alleged that their following comes from Pakistani bot networks. “Only around 10 per cent of followers are being shown from India and 40 per cent from Pakistan… many accounts look like bot farm activity”, a user on X wrote.

However, much of the discussion remains speculative and politically charged. Supporters argue that the movement’s meme-driven content, anti-establishment tone, and focus on unemployment have strongly connected with Gen Z users across India.

The party’s founder, Abhijeet Dipke, has alleged that attempts were made to hack the party’s social media accounts as its popularity surged. The official X handle of CJP, @CJP_2029 , was blocked in India due to a legal demand. Within hours, Abhijeet posted “You thought you could get rid of us? Lol” from another account, @Cockroachisback.