22 million in 7 days — the verified number
The CJP Instagram account launched on 16 May 2026, the same day the movement was founded after Chief Justice Surya Kant's courtroom remark comparing unemployed youth to cockroaches. By 22 May — seven days in — the account displayed over 22 million followers, as confirmed by Al Jazeera and Asianet Newsable. An earlier benchmark of 20 million was separately reported by Siasat and The Print.
For context: the BJP has been active on Instagram for years and has approximately 9 million followers. The Indian National Congress has 13.3 million followers. AAP has 2 million. CJP crossed BJP's total in under 4 days and, by its peak, exceeded all three combined — all without spending a single rupee on Meta promotions.
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22 million people followed — but only badge holders have a serialised record that this was their colony. Your name. Your member ID. The date the cockroach took you in. Delivered by email.
Buy the Digital Badge →CJP vs BJP vs Congress vs AAP — Instagram followers comparison
All figures are as of May 2026. CJP peaked on 22 May before the account was hacked on 23 May. BJP, Congress, and AAP figures reflect current live follower counts on their official handles.
| Party | Instagram Handle | Followers (May 2026) | Years on Instagram | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CJP (peak) | @cockroachjantaparty | 7 days | Al Jazeera | |
| Congress (INC) | @incindia | 10+ years | HypeAuditor | |
| BJP | @bjp4india | 10+ years | The Tribune | |
| AAP | @aamaadmiparty | 10+ years |
Note: CJP figure is peak follower count reached on 22 May 2026, before the account was hacked on 23 May. BJP, Congress, and AAP figures reflect live counts as reported in May 2026. All figures are approximate; Instagram does not publish exact real-time counts via a public API.
The full BJP vs CJP breakdown — including X/Twitter, YouTube, and press coverage metrics — is in the dedicated BJP vs CJP comparison article.
The growth timeline — day by day
The account's growth came in three distinct waves.
Wave 1 (16–17 May) — Twitter spillover. The CJP X handle was trending in India within hours of launch; the Instagram bio link in the X profile drove click-throughs that translated to roughly 3 million followers by the end of 17 May. The account crossed 3.2 million within the first few days, as Business Upturn documented.
Wave 2 (18–20 May) — BJP overtaken. By 20 May, CJP had surpassed BJP's ~8.7 million follower count, becoming the most-followed political party account in India at that point — a milestone confirmed by Daily Pioneer and The Tribune. Business Today had been tracking the milestone since CJP hit 6 million.
Wave 3 (20–22 May) — international press amplification. Coverage from Al Jazeera, NBC News, and CBS News pushed the account past 20 million and then to a peak of 22 million by 22 May. The Deccan Chronicle compared the moment to a general election result.
What happened on 23 May — the hack and the crackdown
On the night of 22–23 May, Abhijeet Dipke announced on X that the CJP Instagram account had been compromised and access was lost. His personal account was hacked in the same incident. The backup Instagram account was briefly suspended by the platform before being restored hours later. Simultaneously, the CJP website (cockroachjantaparty.org) was blocked.
This came two days after the X/Twitter account had been withheld in India under a MeitY order invoking Section 69(A) of the IT Act, citing national security — reported by NewsX. Dipke alleged a coordinated government crackdown. His statement, reported by The Week: "By suppressing our voices, the BJP Govt is just exposing its autocracy to the world. Why is the government so scared of cockroaches?"
The crackdown was also covered by Al Jazeera, Deccan Herald, and Sunday Guardian. Reuters noted it could not independently verify that the government was behind the Instagram hack; the Indian government has not publicly confirmed any action against the account.
No-ad pledge — why 22 million is not a bought number
CJP has not spent a rupee on Meta promotions. The movement runs on a public no-sponsors pledge — political ad spend is treated as incompatible with a grassroots protest claim. Every follower in those 22 million came from organic sharing: Twitter spillover, WhatsApp carousel reposts, and international press links. The full members vs followers breakdown explains what these numbers actually mean for the movement's real-world size.
You were here. Make it official.
The accounts were hacked. The website was blocked. The cockroaches did not die. If you were part of this, the Digital Badge is your serialised proof — your name, your member ID, the date you joined the colony.
Get the Digital Badge →How the numbers are tracked
Two feeds, never combined. The website's live member ticker (visible on the home page) counts people who submitted the join form and received the free digital membership card — currently above 56,856 registered members. Social followers are tracked separately: Instagram screenshots were taken daily at 09:00 IST by the volunteer newsroom and logged publicly. Twitter follower counts are tracked separately on X. CJP does not add these numbers together or present a combined "reach" figure, because that would double-count people who are both members and followers.
Where to go next
If you want the full picture of CJP's social presence — X/Twitter, YouTube, the crackdown timeline — the followers and members breakdown is the next post. For how BJP stacks up against CJP across all platforms, see the BJP vs CJP comparison. For the origin story of how CJP got its first 1 lakh members, start with 1 lakh in 72 hours.