00:00Hello and welcome to yet another edition of the Democratic Newsroom.
00:03We have a new moot point today.
00:05Well, the Chief Justice of India made a comment.
00:08He said he was misconstrued.
00:10But at the back of it was born the Cockroach Janata Party.
00:13And within a span of just a few days,
00:16at least on Instagram and where social media is concerned,
00:18it's taken over the number of followers then,
00:22the biggest political party in the world,
00:24the Bharatiya Janata Party.
00:25Everyone's a tad bit shocked.
00:26But is the CJP, the Cockroach Janata Party,
00:30just a social media fad?
00:32Or could it actually pose a real threat?
00:35And is there a Gen Z vote in this country to take?
00:38Well, let's open the debate.
00:39We have a packed house, but we're going to quickly bring in,
00:42but let me quickly introduce our panelists this evening.
00:47I have with me Sonal, Mr. Raj Chengappa.
00:49I have Tanisha.
00:50I have our Gen Z, Jessica, as well.
00:53And we have Rajdeep Sardisai.
00:54Rajdeep, you want to open the debate?
01:01Well, what's the question?
01:02What's the question?
01:03The question, Rajdeep, is, is there, is this, is CJP,
01:07the Cockroach Janata Party, a real threat or a social media fad?
01:11Is there a vote of the Gen Z to take in this country?
01:18See, I think these are two separate questions.
01:20There is, I believe, a Gen Z vote definitely in this country.
01:23We saw it in Tamil Nadu.
01:25You could see the excitement, visible excitement in that age group between 18 and 21 or 18 and 25
01:31when they supported the actor turned politician Vijay.
01:35So there is a Gen Z vote.
01:37There is a Yuva vote.
01:38Let me call it.
01:38I don't want to divide between Gen Z, millennials.
01:41I get confused myself.
01:42But is there, is the Cockroach Janata Party a representative of this Gen Z angst?
01:49I think the jury is out on that one.
01:51I am very, a little skeptical of sometimes what happens on social media.
01:55You can manage trends at times.
01:58Are they fully organic?
02:00I don't really know.
02:01All I know is Cockroaches are great survivors.
02:04Let's be very clear.
02:06Cockroach ko agar aap ek Cockroach maaroge toh das Cockroach bhaar aajate hain.
02:10So I like the Cockroach analogy that has come in because I've always believed journalists should be Cockroaches.
02:16Why?
02:17Because if there is a nuclear explosion across the world, everything will be destroyed.
02:22The Cockroach will survive because next morning he has to report to the world that there was a nuclear explosion.
02:27So Cockroaches are great survivors.
02:29But being survivors doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to create a movement which will translate into something like
02:36what we saw in Nepal, which turned into a huge political movement.
02:39So let's enjoy it.
02:41I am enjoying it thoroughly.
02:43I love it that young people are expressing their angst, their dissent, their creativity through this Cockroach Janata Party.
02:51I am too old to perhaps join the Cockroach Janata Party, but I am a Cockroach.
02:56That much I can promise you.
02:57I don't want to be a butterfly.
02:58I am happiest when I am a Cockroach watching what's happening around me.
03:03And if people try to crush me, I will survive and revive.
03:07Well, you know, it's already happening in the social media space because at least on Twitter, the handle of Cockroach
03:11Janata Party was taken down and suddenly a new handle has cropped up, which has now an equal number of
03:17followers than the one that was taken down.
03:19So, you know, some would think it's the Streisand effect that you try and suppress something, it will only become
03:24all the more popular.
03:25But I want to bring in Raj Chengappa.
03:27Raj Chengappa, you have seen enough political parties come on the horizon.
03:32Some thrive, some just a flash in the pan and go on.
03:35When you look at the CJP, the Cockroach Janata Party, it resonates with the youth.
03:40It resonates with the underdog.
03:42It does.
03:42It does find.
03:43And the sheer fact, you know, to go and grow at the speed that you have on Instagram is mind
03:49-boggling.
03:50Yes, I'd agree that we should not take it lightly.
03:53Oh, really?
03:54Yeah, yeah.
03:54Any youth movement now, I think, has to be recognized as something of a force.
03:59Since Rajdeep had mentioned Vijay in Tamil Nadu, let's look at what happened over there.
04:04Here again, two established parties get knocked out by this person who comes just about 24 months earlier.
04:11If you talk to Pradeep and others who actually predicted his victory,
04:14you would find that he estimates that the electorate between 18 and 40 is 40% of the total electorate
04:23and the rest is 50% on the other side.
04:25And out of that 40%, Vijay gets 50%.
04:29So he's starting with 20% lead.
04:31Along with that, very interestingly, is their ability to influence their parents.
04:35If you ask a lot of people there, and my brother's there as well,
04:39they say, you know, they tell their parents, you need to vote for this person.
04:43So there is a change because over a period of time, we have become, you know,
04:47the 40s and above have become disillusioned with what has happened.
04:50And just a quick thing about what's happened in Nepal, Sri Lanka and in Bangladesh.
04:56They could have some bearings that's there, but clearly a couple of things happened in those places.
05:00Of course, Nepal triggered because of social media suppression,
05:04but then moved on to all the other big grievances were there.
05:07Lanka, you saw there was a huge problem of inflation, lack of jobs.
05:11In Bangladesh, some of the same problems happened.
05:13So we do have, in some senses, the building of that.
05:16And I think we should take a look at Vijay, not just as a phenomenon, as a film star,
05:21but someone where we now need to look at youth very closely as a vote bank,
05:26because given the economic crisis that we are facing,
05:30the brunt of that crisis is going to be faced by the youth.
05:32And they can then turn around.
05:34But even when you look at data, Raj, you know, you can go back to 2024 elections.
05:38And youth is usually considered anti-establishment.
05:41And that mirrored, at least, in the kind of vote that the Congress got.
05:46Because if you break it down, then it was the younger lot that voted for the Congress in 2024,
05:50which maybe propelled it to the 100 seat there.
05:53So the youth is looking for an option.
05:55But here I would think it's a double-edged sword,
05:57because the youth is not looking at the Congress.
05:59This, you know, if the BJP needs to be worried by a social movement,
06:02right now it is limited to a social movement, like the CJP,
06:05then so does the Congress, the principal opposition,
06:07because they're clearly not looking at the Congress.
06:09They're looking at something completely brand new.
06:11Well, you know, that's where established parties have to look at it.
06:14Just a quick point.
06:15I know you must bring the others in.
06:16In Sri Lanka, it was not that the youth came to power.
06:19They created the revolt.
06:21True.
06:21And someone else emerged out of it.
06:22Right?
06:23Anna movement.
06:24No.
06:24The Anna movement.
06:25In Sri Lanka.
06:38The Nirbaya movement.
06:40But I want to bring in, for someone who manages our entire social media and heads it, Tanisha is with
06:46us.
06:47Tanisha, when you look at a Vijay and you look at a TVK, without giving a single interview, right?
06:52Zero.
06:53No, he didn't speak to anybody.
06:54It was largely a campaign that was run on social media and it spread like fire and the kind of
07:01support he got.
07:02So, when you are looking at numbers, where in just about a couple of days, this party has gone from
07:08scratch and overtaken the number of followers from the Bharatiya Janata party,
07:14A, it's fascinating at a level and how quickly it's grown.
07:17Yeah.
07:17So, I think there are two ways of looking at it.
07:19Number one, I do think that, of course, the Gen Z voter, the Gen Z has a voice and a
07:24very strong voice on social media.
07:27One is that this movement has happened on social media where Gen Z exists, coexists with everybody, right?
07:33It's not on stage.
07:34So, they're taking it from stage online.
07:36That's what happened in Vijay's case as well.
07:38The second is that they're using social media sarcasm and humor to both protest and cope with, you know, the
07:46issues that they're facing,
07:47that the country is facing inflation, joblessness, all of that, the frustration.
07:51They are taking it out, not тАУ it's basically moving from they're not marching, they're memeing, right?
07:57That's how things are moving, even for Vijay's campaign.
08:00I think a lot of them were just, you know, very interesting memes that got people going, sharing content here
08:07and there and all of that.
08:08So, I think the entire atmosphere of how things are тАУ
08:10Is the growth organic?
08:12Because a lot of people are saying тАУ
08:13It's absolutely organic.
08:14You're saying it's organic?
08:14It's absolutely organic.
08:16Because it's absolutely organic.
08:18Okay, that's a тАУ you know, then тАУ
08:20Yeah.
08:20But having said that, it's so much easier to just тАУ
08:23And most followers are from where?
08:24Let's also not forget that the criteria, membership criteria for this party is that are you bored?
08:29Are you jobless?
08:30Are you online?
08:31And it's тАУ
08:32Are you lazy?
08:33Lazy.
08:34And it's scary to think that so many people thought that it was, you know, something they resonated with.
08:39And you're saying it's organic and most of the followers come from where?
08:42They're all Gen Z.
08:43All Gen Z.
08:43They're all frustrated.
08:44They're all online.
08:46They're all bored.
08:47And they're all lazy.
08:48All right.
08:48Okay.
08:48So now you've been tracking the emergence of the CJP, the Cockroach Jantha Party.
08:54It's been a few days.
08:55It's been a few days.
08:56But in a few days, it's тАУ you know, the trajectory is quite amazing.
09:00Quite mind-boggling.
09:01You also spoke to the founder.
09:02Yes, I spoke to the founder and I asked him exactly these questions, right?
09:06Like every time there's a conversation on a new party or a young party, people will say,
09:10Online is a trend.
09:11It won't come up in the vote.
09:12It won't translate in the vote.
09:13They'll come on streets, but they'll only make memes and they'll make their reels and they'll go back.
09:18But it's not true.
09:19I think something is changing, not just in India, but in our entire ecosystem.
09:24Yes, Nepal.
09:25Yes, Bangladesh.
09:26Yes, Sri Lanka.
09:27But look at the cases that are really triggering young people.
09:30It's NEAT.
09:32It's Agnipat.
09:33It's all these cases that has really got people on the streets.
09:37Pollution has got people on the streets to say, guys, will somebody please speak for us?
09:42And, you know, let's be mindful of the fact.
09:44We keep thinking Gen Z is very young.
09:46Gen Z today is 29.
09:48They have paid their taxes.
09:50They are paying their rents.
09:52They are not getting jobs.
09:54They are angry and upset and they are saying, boss, I have grown up and I've had enough of them.
09:59So, I think something is happening here with the Cockroach Janta Party.
10:03It's not that they don't turn up on voting booths and vote.
10:08It's not that the turnout is low.
10:09Their options are low.
10:11They don't have every time you give them an option in Nepal, in Tamil Nadu, in Bangladesh, in Sri Lanka.
10:19And it also shows because at least the Gen Z that we speak of is rather jaded with the political
10:26options that they have.
10:28So, what I said earlier, if, you know, the incumbent needs to be a tad bit worried with the kind
10:32of growth that the CJP has got,
10:34the opposition needs to be worried more because somebody is taking their space from them.
10:39Okay, now in all this whole lot, we only have one Gen Z and that is Jessica.
10:43I'm a proud representative of the Gen Z.
10:45A proud representative of the Gen Z generation.
10:49So, Jessica, how are you?
10:51And the other Gen Zs, are they cockroaches yet?
10:55Yes, definitely.
10:56You know, one of the taglines is,
10:58So, that is how the cockroach and the party, that is how they're equating the world right now.
11:05They're saying that it's a gutter, it's all gone to the rags and we need to reclaim our space.
11:09Nobody is talking about us right now.
11:12We are not part of the conversation.
11:14It's all the usual politics and so they're trying to get attention towards all of these issues.
11:18They are a force for good in a way.
11:21Okay, what attracts you to CJP?
11:23Have you joined the party? Have you followed it?
11:26Yes, yes, I have joined the party.
11:29So, which one are you? Are you lazy? You're not unemployed for sure.
11:33No, I'm not unemployed, I'm sitting here.
11:35I mean, Gen Z, people say Gen Z is lazy and in a very negative way.
11:40But then we have brought about these trends which are like the quiet quitting and all of these trends which
11:46are also born from,
11:47I can see it from a lot of your faces, you don't quite understand what I'm talking about.
11:50No, no, I understand.
11:51That makes sense, man.
11:53We understand.
11:54Yeah, yeah, yeah.
11:55He's offended.
11:56No, likeтАж
11:57See, I have two Gen Zs killed.
11:58Yeah.
11:58So, it's okay.
12:00Yeah.
12:00So, I can't be surprised.
12:02So, like, you know, it's alwaysтАж
12:04These terms, they're trying to reclaim these terms as well by, you knowтАж
12:08Okay, tell me something, Jessica, and I'll bring in Rajdeep.
12:10Well, as somebody who follows the Cockroach Janata Party, do you want it to be a social pressure group or
12:16you want this party to become a political party and fight the elections?
12:21Right now, I would want it to be a social pressure group and not a political party.
12:24Because, as we've been talking about how when one enters into a political space, it becomes a very murky ground.
12:31You don't reallyтАж
12:32I mean, we have seen this right now with Raghav Chadda.
12:34He was so popular and now he's, you know, switched parties.
12:36A lot of Gen Zs was following Raghav Chadda and they don't like this.
12:40Like, you've been, you know, propagating something for so long and now you're saying something completely, entirely different.
12:45I don't know if we can keepтАж
12:47Don't know if we can keep everything.
12:48Go ahead.
12:49But that is something which is also the grouse of the Gen Z, right?
12:52Like, when you're saying something and you don't walk the talk.
12:55So, that is one of the grouse for the Gen Z.
12:56And I don't know how this will play out if itтАж
12:59So, what is it?
13:00Okay, Rajdeep, so, you know, what Jessica also told us the minute she came in is that why I like
13:03the Cockroach Janata Party.
13:05See, they're cleaning the Yamuna.
13:06You know, they're not just sitting and talking about it.
13:08Yeah, so a lot of people, this is not the CJP itself cleaning the Yamuna.
13:12A lot of people who associateтАж
13:13Associate, are doing it.
13:14Exactly.
13:15Yeah, so they are doing all of these good tasks and tasks which, you know, things that people wouldn't generally
13:19talk of.
13:20We don't see political parties.
13:20You know, let me bring in Rajdeep.
13:21I'm all for CJP, but that's just for a real yard.
13:24I mean, I'm all for it, but come on.
13:26True.
13:26Come on, that's just a real.
13:27I passed through Yamuna today.
13:28It's not clean.
13:29Nobody was there.
13:30No, but these are the effort.
13:31Okay, I want to let me bring in Rajdeep back.
13:32It's a statement at max.
13:33Okay, fair point.
13:34I want to bring in Rajdeep back into this conversation.
13:36Rajdeep, you know, with what also Jessica just elucidated, it just shows that the Gen Z today has zero patience
13:42for old school stereotypical politics.
13:45They just have no space for that anymore.
13:52No, it doesn't.
13:53But, you see, the truth is that they have to also, their attention spans are sometimes consumed in one reel.
13:59And I'm not trying to talk down to them.
14:01But the fact is that, you know, I sit on a flight next to me, someone from Gen Z, and
14:06she's furiously scrolling down her mobile to see what's the next reel.
14:10Now, you have to move from reel to the road.
14:13In Bangladesh, in Sri Lanka, you know, the fact is, ultimately, there is no substitute for taking your anger out
14:23in more concrete terms.
14:25And let's be honest, there are Gen Zs and there are Gen Zs.
14:29There are Gen Zs who suffer because of paper leaks.
14:32There are Gen Zs who suffer because examination results are not declared on time.
14:36There are Gen Zs who suffer because they see corruption around them.
14:42They feel that there are no jobs for them.
14:45So, their concerns are very different.
14:47Some other Gen Zs may be worried about pollution, about Yamuna.
14:50So, I don't believe that there is one unified Gen Z vote out there.
14:54What I do believe is that at the end of the day, you're going to, at some stage, have to
14:58move from being social media entertainment to doing the real thing.
15:01We're all enjoying it at the moment.
15:03As I said, I love the creativity.
15:05I love the fact that they are pouring their angst out in the way they are and actually discomforting and
15:11asking some inconvenient questions that we in mainstream media don't.
15:17I like that.
15:18I like people who dissent.
15:20India needs an anti-establishment voice.
15:22And I think the CJI, unfortunately, got it terribly wrong.
15:25I mean, the way he put it, it was going to...
15:28He said he was misconstrued, but that's too late.
15:30The ship is safe.
15:31By what the CJI said, he can say what he wants.
15:34He can say what he wants.
15:35But I think Abhiji is serious.
15:36It is not just...
15:37He represented an old style...
15:40Okay, Raji, quickly make your point.
15:42No, I'm just saying that...
15:44Yeah, I'm just saying there's always been space for anyone who's anti-establishment in this country.
15:50But you've got to then be willing to stay the course and do more than just...
15:54But what is staying the course?
15:56Is it to continue being a social media pressure group where you keep picking up issues on social media?
16:02Or do you get your hands dirty?
16:04I said, will you fight 2029 elections?
16:07What did he say?
16:07Okay, he said...
16:08Yeah, sure.
16:09And he has experience, remember.
16:10He's been part of a social experiment when he called Ahmadineh Party earlier.
16:14And he left it, seems a little disgruntled about it, and said that one of the reasons that I joined
16:20that party was health and was environment issues and education issues.
16:25But they didn't seem to go in another direction, so I parted ways.
16:28So he has experience.
16:29He seems to be thinking about it, but he was measured.
16:32He said, I'm thinking.
16:33Thinking about it.
16:34I'm going to ask people, and if they want, we will become a political party.
16:38So this is not to be ravished so easily and so early.
16:41I would just make a couple of points.
16:42One, we always think of Gen Z as the one that is creating the entire...
16:45But being a political party in India is not so easy.
16:48True, true, true Rajdeep.
16:49Yeah.
16:49Gen Z is the one that is creating the entire movement.
16:52If you look at the ages of prime ministers, right?
16:54I think Rajiv Gandhi, who has not mistaken, was 40 when he became a prime minister, the youngest prime minister.
16:59And this is 84.
17:01Take a look at Benazir Bhutto across that side.
17:03She was 35.
17:04So it's not unusual for young to sort of create an impact, and we think this is just happening now.
17:09I think what you're seeing now is the...
17:12Every single political party, that's why, has to take note of it, because there is what would, let's say, a
17:18cocktail of factors
17:19that could create this to bubble up even further,
17:22because you do have issues that concern Gen Z, right?
17:25We know that this crisis that is on us, the oil shocks that's there, is going to impact jobs.
17:30It's going to cause inflation.
17:31Who's hurt the most in each of these things?
17:33It's the people that are looking out for jobs that's there.
17:35And so, therefore, we've seen in other countries, not that it could happen in India.
17:39I think the BJP has been extremely smart.
17:41If you look at Mr Modi, he's adopted social media right from the time he emerged in 2012,
17:46long before everybody else knew the value.
17:48The BJP is a master at using all the WhatsApps and everything, as we saw in recent elections.
17:53So, they are savvy.
17:54But at the end of the day, I think you have to meet the requirements that youth want,
17:59which is, and that is that large group, that they feel frustrated.
18:03No, even though they're young, but they seem to be very jaded with the system.
18:07Okay, you wanted to come in.
18:08No, so I just want to say, I agree with Rajdeep, sir, that a lot of times on social media
18:11trends,
18:12they come up and then they as quickly fade away, right?
18:14So, I think that's something that, unless it translates into on-ground reality,
18:19it's going to sort of vanish.
18:20I mean, we're going to find out very soon, is this real political fire or is it just,
18:23you know, we're just enjoying the vibe for now, right?
18:25We don't know.
18:26The second thing I want to say is that these platforms are third-party platforms, right?
18:30One change in algorithm, one ban on an account or any such violation means that it,
18:35everything could vanish overnight.
18:36So, you can't own a rented house.
18:38That's something to remember.
18:39Have to move beyond social media to make a real difference.
18:42No, I just want to say, let's be clear.
18:45I think these guys also, the CJP also is very clear that this is just the beginning.
18:49I don't think they want a house in here.
18:51I don't think they want to rent it either.
18:53I think they want to use this platform and make something bigger out of it.
18:56And I do want to say this.
18:57I don't think the Gen Z really resonates with any of the existing political parties.
19:02I think the reason a new establishment is required as a need,
19:07as an oxygen for them at the moment,
19:09is because they want a fresh start.
19:11They are done with these old ones.
19:13That's what we said.
19:14But the BJP or the Coen O leaders can make it happen with Gen Z anymore.
19:18I don't think they cut it with Gen Z anymore.
19:20The three examples that happened recently, let's look at Sri Lanka,
19:24the Gen Z disappears,
19:25and you've got a regular party that is there that is taken over from the two established parties.
19:28Right, right.
19:29It has formed a third front, but it has pushed together through this.
19:32It created a...
19:33Go back to Bangladesh,
19:35where again you've had a revolt of sorts,
19:36but you get the BNP back.
19:38Tariq Raiman is, you know, in his 60s.
19:40It's not like he's young.
19:41The only place where you can look at an example is Balin Shah at 36.
19:44But then Raj, why look there?
19:47Look at Tamil Nadu.
19:48Tamil Nadu again.
19:49Look at Vijay.
19:49Yeah, but Vijay is 50.
19:50Look at TVK.
19:51No, Vijay is 50.
19:52He's not like a Gen Z guy.
19:53He's as Gen Z as the guy.
19:54Guys, come on, you're getting it so wrong.
19:57It's not the...
19:58It's the idea.
20:00It's the idea.
20:00It's the idea of an alternative.
20:02One second.
20:02For them, they want a certain appeal that is there,
20:05but let's look at Vijay.
20:06He doesn't just thrive because he has built a brand through films.
20:10He's not a...
20:10True, true.
20:11Johnny come lately when it comes to knowledge, right?
20:13It's the idea.
20:14It's the idea.
20:14He's an alternative.
20:16Okay, so I want to bring in...
20:18I'll give you the final word, Jessica.
20:20We're talking a lot about Vijay.
20:22And I was also on ground in Tamil Nadu, in Madurai,
20:26in all of these places.
20:27One thing that is common even there is there's a generational divide
20:30between how people are voting.
20:31All the young and in a single household,
20:34all the fathers, grandfathers, all the parents may be voting for DMK, IDMK,
20:38but all the younger children and women, they were voting for TVK.
20:40So they were all looking for a face,
20:43probably who's not already there, a part of the conversation.
20:46So that is completely true, that there is no alternative.
20:49True.
20:49Well, right now, you're right now, there is no alternative
20:51and there's a desperate search of that alternative,
20:53search of political hope.
20:55But hope, you know, can also quickly turn into frustration.
20:59And it can push you up like it has in the form of the Kokoro Janta Party
21:04where you start off from nothing and you're already millions of followers,
21:07more than BJP, but as quickly as it propels you,
21:10it pulls you down as quickly as well if you don't deliver.
21:13So that's frustration.
21:14I think they're saying,
21:15I think they're saying that.
21:18That's all the time that we have now.
21:19We're going to quickly wrap.
21:21Thank you, all of you, for joining us.
21:23And we're going to leave it for our viewers.
21:24It's going to be interesting.
21:25Let's see.
21:26And watch.
21:27Does it fade with time?
21:28Was it just a social media experiment?
21:30Or will it be a real political threat?
21:33We'll see.
21:33Thank you for joining us.
21:34Let's see.
21:35Let's see.
21:36Let's see.
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