Who Is Manish Brahmbhatt? Cockroach Janata Party (Democratic) Founder Alleges CJP Was ‘Sold Out’

Activist Manish Brahmbhatt on Thursday announced the launch of the Cockroach Janta Party-Democratic (CJP-D), positioning it as an alternative platform to the Cockroach Janta Party, accusing the Abhijeet Dipke-led organisation of moving away from the student-led movement from which it had emerged, PTI reported.

Brahmbhatt, who had earlier protested against the composition of the CJP's national working committee, alleged that the organisation had become a "handpicked team" aligned with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal and was no longer adequately representing the volunteers and protesters who had participated in its agitation.

Who Is Manish Brahmbhatt?

"Today, we are launching the Cockroach Janta Party-Democratic," Brahmbhatt said, adding that the new platform would seek to mobilise the "collective strength" of people who had participated in the movement.

The CJP, which initially emerged as an online satirical platform and later held a student-led agitation in Delhi over examination paper leaks and other issues concerning education, subsequently announced plans to expand its activities across the country. Its founder Dipke has said the organisation would function as a public pressure group rather than entering electoral politics.

Brahmbhatt's election affidavit, available on the Association for Democratic Reforms' MyNeta platform, listed him as a 37-year-old management consultant at the time of the election. He had completed a B.Com and F.Y. LLB from Hemchandracharya North Gujarat University. His declared assets stood at around Rs 44.42 lakh, with no liabilities declared.

The affidavit also listed four pending criminal cases, involving charges under IPC Sections 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 505(2) (statements promoting enmity or ill-will between groups), 114 (abettor present when an offence is committed), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 153 (provocation with intent to cause riot), 501 (printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory) and 502 (sale of printed or engraved defamatory matter). These were pending cases and do not amount to convictions.

Why Did Brahmbhatt Say CJP Was ‘Sold Out’?

Brahmbhatt alleged that the CJP's newly constituted leadership did not adequately reflect the wider movement, and several members associated with AAP had been included while volunteers associated with other political parties and those who had participated in the protests were left out.

"Why are eight people involved exclusively from the Aam Aadmi Party?" he asked.

He alleged that volunteers associated with parties including the Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, RJD, BJP and the Congress had participated in the movement but were not represented in the new structure.

Brahmbhatt also questioned the representation of women, Muslims, Sikhs and students in the CJP's leadership, saying the movement had drawn participation from diverse sections and had primarily been centred on students' concerns over examination paper leaks.

"The core issue was the injustice faced by meritorious students due to paper leaks," he said, alleging that the present leadership had failed to uphold the movement's original objective.

Brahmbhatt and fellow activist Rahul Pandey had protested outside Dipke's residence in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in August, alleging favouritism in the constitution of the CJP's core committee and demanding greater representation for grassroots volunteers. The protesters had claimed that around 450 coordinators associated with the Jantar Mantar agitation had not been represented in the committee.

Brahmbhatt said the CJP-D would instead seek to create a national team through a democratic process and involve volunteers and protesters in decision-making.

"If you proceed solely based on Kejriwal's agenda, without consulting volunteers or protesters, and fight against just one party, the country sees what is happening," he said.