Should the CJP be a political party?

A glimpse at India’s recent history suggests that while some protest movements became successful political parties, others did not. The success of the recent youth movement started by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) should not be judged by whether it would become a successful political party nor by its forcing the former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign. Rather, the success of the CJP movement should be judged by the enthusiastic participation of young students for a cause which concerned them; the success of which has raised confidence in them.

They now believe that they can make the government hear their voices even if it is raised from a non-political platform.

Movements to parties

Very often the success of a movement is judged by not only what the movement was able to achieve but whether it was able to become a successful political party or not. The 1979 student’s agitation in Assam led by the All Assam Students Union transformed into a successful political party, the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), which formed the government in 1985 in Assam. The India against corruption movement also transformed into a political party — the Aam Adami Party (AAP) which came to power in Delhi for the first time in 2013. Not only did the India against corruption movement draw large support, the AAP also enjoyed massive electoral gains; it won 67 and 62 seats out of a total of 70 Assembly seats in Delhi with a 54.3% and 53.5% vote share during the 2015 and 2020 Assembly elections respectively.

The AAP also formed a government in Punjab in 2022. 

In the success story of both the AGP and AAP, the youth played an important role. During the 2015 Assembly elections, the AAP’s vote share among young voters (18-22 years of age) was 63%, almost 10% higher compared to its average vote share. The AAP went on to draw 60% of the votes among young voters (18-22 years) during the 2020 Assembly elections as well — 7% higher compared to its average vote share.

If the CJP does turn into a political party, there is hardly any doubt that the new party will attract young voters, as has been the case with other newly formed parties. The newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-turned politician C. Joseph Vijay, formed the government in Tamil Nadu in the very first election it contested in 2026, replacing the two established formations mainly the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The youth played a very important role in the victory of the TVK. While the overall vote share of the TVK was 34.9%, its share among young voters (18-22) was significant at nearly 70%.

Nationally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has an advantage among young voters, its vote share being 4% higher amongst voters in the age group of 18-22 years. Therefore, the rise of the CJP may affect the BJP more than any other party.

But the question remains, can the CJP attract young voters across the country?

Strong challengers

There have also been successful social movements which have failed as political parties. The movement for a separate State of Uttarakhand resulted in the formation of a new State and a new political party, the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD). However, it failed to make an electoral impact. During the 2002 election, which was the first election held after the formation of Uttarakhand, the UKD polled only 5.4% votes and won just four Assembly seats. There have been similar groups which have led protest movements, demanding Statehood and the like, but most of them could not become successful political parties.

However, there have been movements led by the youth, with the participation of larger social communities, which resulted in a change of the national government. The Jayaprakash Narayan led anti-emergency movement of 1977 dethroned the powerful Indira Gandhi-led government. Similarly, the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare contributed to the defeat of the Congress-led coalition government in 2014.

It should be of no concern whether the CJP becomes a political party or not as the movement has already been able to achieve some noticeable milestones. It emphasised that issues take importance and not leaders as this movement was largely leaderless without the active support of any political party.

It also gave a large number of people the hope that their voices can be heard if they come together in a sustained manner. 

Sanjay Kumar is Professor and election analyst. Views expressed are personal.