A social media upstart has outpaced established political heavyweights in the race for Instagram engagement. CJP accounted for 25% of the 87.8 million engagements across 10 political accounts tracked by Data Beings during the week.
BY PC Bureau
New Delhi, October 22: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a youth-driven political movement that emerged from social media satire, generated more Instagram engagement than the Congress and Rahul Gandhi during October 10–16, according to an analysis by Data Beings. The figures underline the movement’s ability to command online attention despite operating outside the conventional political party structure.
CJP recorded 21.7 million engagements during the week, accounting for 25% of the 87.8 million engagements generated by the 10 political accounts tracked in the analysis. The Congress came second with 20.5 million engagements, or 23% of the total, while Rahul Gandhi ranked third with 14.6 million, accounting for 17%.
CJP’s total was 1.2 million higher than the Congress’s, giving it a lead of nearly six per cent over the principal opposition party’s engagement figure for the period.
The ranking placed the Indian Youth Congress fourth with 7.4 million engagements, followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with five million. The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) recorded 1.8 million, while former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal registered 1.4 million.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav recorded 1.2 million engagements, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) registered 800,000.
𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 & 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 – 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟰𝟮
@Cockroachisback led with 25% shares followed by @INCIndia and @RahulGandhi https://t.co/jgp9lZe0Tq— Data Beings (@DataBeings) October 22, 2026
CJP: The New Digital Challenger to Political Heavyweights
The figures offer a striking comparison between CJP and established political organisations with extensive party machinery, public representatives and long-standing voter bases. In the period measured, the movement’s Instagram engagement exceeded that of the Congress, the BJP and the AAP, as well as the individual accounts of Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal and Akhilesh Yadav.
The result is particularly notable because CJP began as a satirical online movement rather than a conventional electoral organisation. Its rise has been associated with youth discontent over unemployment, examination controversies, rising living costs and wider concerns about governance. Its irreverent style and social-media-driven messaging have helped it attract a substantial online following.
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CJP’s performance also reflects a wider shift in political communication. Instagram has become an important platform for political messaging, particularly among younger audiences, allowing movements to build visibility without relying exclusively on traditional party networks, rallies or established media channels.
But engagement figures need to be read carefully. They measure interactions on a platform, not votes, membership, public approval or the ability to mobilise people offline. The data supplied does not specify the precise components included in the engagement measure, so the figures should be understood as reported by Data Beings rather than as a direct measure of political support.
Congress leads individual opposition leaders, but CJP tops the ranking
The Congress’s 20.5 million engagements placed it close behind CJP, while Rahul Gandhi’s 14.6 million put him third overall. Together, the party and its leader accounted for 35.1 million engagements—well above CJP’s individual total.
The figures suggest that the contest for online attention is not confined to a simple divide between established parties and new movements. Large political organisations retain the capacity to generate substantial interaction, while individual leaders and newer groups can command attention through different styles of communication.
The BJP’s five million engagements placed it fifth in the ranking, considerably below the Congress and CJP during the week. That comparison, however, applies only to the accounts and period measured; it does not establish a broader ranking of political influence across platforms.
CJP’s lead is therefore best understood as a snapshot of Instagram engagement over seven days. Whether that attention can be sustained—and whether it can be converted into organisational strength, wider public participation or electoral influence—remains a separate question.
For now, the Data Beings analysis puts CJP ahead of India’s major political parties and leaders in the specific metric it measured, illustrating how quickly a digital-first movement can compete for attention in an increasingly online political arena.
