No distance will ever weaken my commitment to AAP: CJP founder's 2024 post goes viral

Abhijit Dipke with AAP leader Manish Sisodia. PIC/X

An old social media post by Abhijeet Dipke, the founder of the now-viral Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), has come under the spotlight after details of his past association with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were highlighted online.

In the August 2024 post, made just before he left for the United States, Dipke had thanked AAP leader Manish Sisodia and openly reaffirmed his loyalty to the party.

Sharing a photograph with Sisodia, he wrote: "Thank you for everything, msisodia sir. I am truly grateful for all the opportunities you provided me while working with you. Leaving for Boston with your guidance as my compass. No distance will ever weaken my commitment to AAP."

The post, which carried the hashtag TeamManishSisodiaForever, was shared at a time when Dipke was preparing to pursue higher studies abroad.

Dipke, a 30-year-old from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra, had volunteered with the AAP's social media and meme team between 2020 and 2023. He was actively involved in the party's digital campaigns, including during the 2020 Delhi Assembly Elections that AAP won handsomely.

He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Public Relations at Boston University.

Dipke calls account withholding ‘self-goal by government', launches ‘Cockroach Is Back'

The old message has resurfaced strongly after an X user osintspectator posted screenshots and details of Dipke's background on May 19.

The handle claimed that Dipke is "probably working for the Aam Aadmi Party from the US" and suggested that he launched the Cockroach Janta Party to reach Gen Z audiences and promote the AAP narrative.

The Cockroach Janta Party was launched on May 16 as a satirical digital outfit in response to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant's remarks referring to certain individuals as "cockroaches" and "parasites". The outfit quickly turned the term into a symbol of youth resilience and went massively viral, especially on Instagram.

Meanwhile, hours after the X account of Cockroach Janta Party was withheld in India on Thursday, another handle - ‘Cockroach is Back' with the tagline ‘Cockroaches Don't Die' - surfaced.

"This (action) was expected since there were attempts to hack the account yesterday. But this is a self-goal by the government," Dipke told PTI.

"I have now started a new account named ‘Cockroach Is Back' on X," he added.

Dipke also said the team would pursue the matter legally.

‘Cockroach Is Back' surges to over 91,000 followers

The number of followers of the account ‘Cockroach is Back' continued to grow, reaching more than 91,000 late Thursday night. Around 6 pm, a few hours after the launch, the X handle had garnered more than 39,000 followers. It once again shared the demand for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, over the NEET UG 2026 paper ‘leak'.

Cockroach Janta Party, which, according to Dipke, had 201,000 followers on X when it was withheld, was born following a controversy over Chief Justice of India Surya Kant using the terms "parasites" and "cockroaches" while pulling up a lawyer for his plea seeking senior designation.

The CJI later clarified that he was misquoted and his remarks were directed specifically at individuals entering the legal profession through "fake and bogus degrees".

The account, which came into being a day after the CJI's remarks on May 15, quickly went viral, attracting support from politicians, activists, artists and a large number of young and not-so-young social media users.

(With PTI inputs)