A lawyer from Haryana’s Panipat has approached the Election Commission of India (ECI) seeking to register the online satirical collective Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) independently from its original founder, Abhijeet Dipke, who is currently based in the United States. Sources familiar with the matter revealed this development on Tuesday.

Sudhir Jakhar, an advocate who identifies himself as the national convener of the party, submitted an application to the ECI secretary under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act. The application reportedly includes the party’s cockroach emblem along with Jakhar’s designation as a lawyer. If the registration is granted under Jakhar’s leadership, the newly formed entity could potentially claim ownership over the party’s social media accounts.

The Cockroach Janta Party was launched earlier this month following widespread criticism of remarks made by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant regarding unemployed youth. During his comments, the CJI had stated that many youngsters, “like cockroaches,” fail to find employment or establish themselves professionally, eventually turning into media personalities, social media activists, RTI activists, or campaigners who “attack everyone.”

Soon after its launch, the party gained massive traction online. However, its X (formerly Twitter) account was withheld in India within five days. Despite this, the movement rapidly became one of the country’s fastest-growing online trends. Reports suggest that its Instagram page even crossed the follower count of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In addition, thousands of people reportedly enrolled through digital membership forms.

Jakhar stated that members of the movement had requested Dipke to return to India and formally establish the organisation as a political party. However, Dipke, who is currently pursuing a master’s degree at Boston University, allegedly declined the proposal.

According to Jakhar, the group feared that if the name was registered by someone else first, the movement could be misused or lose its identity. “Seeing the anger among the youth and the scale of support the movement received, we decided to move forward ourselves to protect it,” Jakhar said.

Dipke did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Jakhar was also expected to appear before the ECI on Tuesday to submit the remaining documentation required for registration.

The objectives listed in Jakhar’s application reportedly include promoting constitutional fundamental duties under Article 51A, encouraging democratic participation, conducting social audits of governance, environmental protection, animal welfare, legal awareness, whistleblower protection, transparency, communal harmony, and peaceful democratic reforms.

These aims are notably different from the party’s original five demands, which included:

• No Rajya Sabha nominations for retired Chief Justices
• Use of anti-terror laws against alleged vote deletions
• 50% reservation for women in Parliament and the Union Cabinet
• Cancellation of media licences owned by billionaire industrialists
• A 20-year ban on political defections

Under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, the ECI has the authority to determine the officially recognised office-bearers of a political party. The commission has previously exercised this power during disputes involving factions of the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

If approved, the Cockroach Janta Party would receive the status of a Registered Unrecognised Political Party. This is the same category under which Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam contested before forming the government in Tamil Nadu after winning 108 out of 234 seats earlier this month. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) also held this status when it first came to power in Delhi in 2013.

However, the party’s cockroach symbol is unlikely to receive approval. Current ECI guidelines generally prohibit animal or insect-based symbols, with only a few exceptions such as the lion and elephant. The commission’s free symbols list currently contains 164 approved options, including symbols like a pressure cooker, noodle bowl, and baby walker, but no insect-related symbol is included.