Cockroach Janata Party's Rise Reflects Frustration Among Youth, Says Shashi Tharoor

As a satirical collective calling itself the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) captures the imagination of millions online, its meteoric rise has become more than a viral internet phenomenon. In an interview with The Indian Express, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor reflects on what the CJP phenomenon reveals about the mood of the country’s youth, the failures and possibilities it provides in mainstream politics, among other issues. Excerpts: *The CJP has taken the internet by storm. It now has over 15 million followers on Instagram, surpassing the followers of the BJP and Congress. How do you see this? I think it is a revelation because it confirms to us the extent to which there is frustration and dissatisfaction that the public can express through being able to tap into an initiative like this. It was obviously a spontaneous initiative but it went viral very quickly and I think it’s a very healthy thing in a democracy that people have different ways of being able to express their wishes and something that is satirical, humorous and at the same time deadly serious is an excellent outlet for the frustrations of the youth. The NEET exam obviously was the straw that broke the camel’s back but then you also had, I think, general unhappiness with unemployment, limited possibilities in life, education, everything else, inflation going up and the challenges of coping. And then when NEET (paper leak) happened, particularly those lakhs of children who had spent years preparing for it, must have sort of let go as a major exhalation… For them to suddenly realise they had to go through this all over again must have been shattering. I understand four young people committed suicide, others are facing mental health problems. It’s very serious. I mean obviously the young people are saying we’ve had enough and I think that to hear that the X handle has been shut down is to my mind disastrous because in a democracy we need outlets. We need to actually have, in any democracy, outlets that will allow people to express their frustrations. * What does it say about the state of the Opposition? I love the fact that the media consistently blames the Opposition. Dissatisfaction is very often with, as you know, the circumstances that the government is ultimately responsible for and that’s why I think blaming the Opposition is a bit, more than a bit unfair but I agree with you that the Opposition will tap into this. It sees all these issues now. It sees how people are reacting. I think the Opposition has already made a big issue about NEET and the other issues, the unemployment and inflation are classic Opposition issues that it has been mentioning repeatedly. I would not suggest that there is no chance whatsoever of the Opposition riding the crest of the same wave. *The recent Assembly elections, particularly in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu , showed that people are yearning for change. In Tamil Nadu, two established parties were thrown out. So, there seems to be some kind of churn, at least among youngsters… Right. And the truth is that the description of Vijay’s victory as a Gen Z victory is probably fairly accurate. The vast majority of his voters appear to have been under 30s and so it is a sign that the new generation is restless, is experiencing frustrations and is looking for alternatives. The Opposition should not be complacent about this because it may not only be with the ruling party that they’re frustrated but with the entire political system letting them down. And I think we need to be able to be responsive to all of that. I do think that we can be. It’s a question now of interacting much more with members of that generation. That’s why I think shutting down the website is a mistake but Instagram is still available. Interact with them there and see what we can do to work with them to find a constructive solution to their issues. *Should the Opposition be doing something out of the box, a new kind of politics to channelise the youth? No, I think the Opposition’s challenge would be to channelise this discontent into mainstream politics. Rather than it going off into a non-existent political party which is not organised to fight elections, the Opposition’s opportunity is to take this discontent and channelise it into mainstream politics, into electoral change and into bringing different results at the ballot box. So, we now have to articulate a message that invites people who feel this way to vote for us. *The larger message from the satirical collective seems to be that there is disillusionment with the political system itself and that includes both the ruling and Opposition. Correct. No, but that is an unproductive frustration because it can’t translate into effective results that will improve their lives. Whereas if they work with the Opposition and with political parties in general including the ruling party, they should be able to get results that will actually make a tangible difference in their lives. (For instance), reform of the NEET. I have seen very quickly some of their manifesto proposals as on their website. Many of these things can be discussed and implemented and what the government won’t implement the Opposition can support. There are things that we can do. I mean but there has to be an engagement. The engagement must take place obviously starting with us as the single largest Opposition party. *Do you think the Opposition’s political messaging is not appealing to the youth? No, I wouldn’t say that. Look, it is not unprecedented that Opposition parties are sometimes not as quick to capture a mood in such an original way as an individual with a satirical bent of mind. Because that’s not conventional politics. But by doing what he has done, young Abhijeet Dipke, has also I think shown the way to the rest of us that there is an opportunity waiting to be seized.