The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), which has brought India’s most powerful prime minister to his knees, had a rather bizarre origin. It was born as an angry response to the Chief Justice of India’s (CJI) unbecoming remarks about unemployed youth: he compared them to “cockroaches”.No other mass movement in India was born on social media, that too just hours after the CJI’s “cockroaches” remark. First, the CJI sought to explain what his remarks really meant and then, on July 24, the court placed curbs on reporting court proceedings on social media.“I would like to thank CJI Surya Kant. If he hadn’t called us cockroaches, I wouldn’t have come to India. This movement would not have started,” Dipke told supporters after education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.This is the first time that the office of the CJI has become the spark for a massive agitation that culminated in a great humiliation for India’s most powerful prime minister. And this forms the first takeaway from CJP’s 36-day agitation.Illustration: Pariplab ChakrabortyThe second takeaway is how the regime will try to recover from the humiliation it suffered from the youth upsurge. Will it continue with plans to push more splits in political parties, wrest a two-thirds majority in parliament, pursue the delimitation of constituencies and other measures for more authoritarian control?We will know more about its strategy in the coming days.Third, in the early years of Narendra Modi as the prime minister, the young graduates who believed industrial units would sprout everywhere and had rallied round his ‘Modi hai to mumkin hai’ (If Modi is in charge, anything is possible) slogan have now deserted the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime and formed the CJP.Fourth, the CJP is not going to be a one-stir phenomenon. It is evolving and post-agitation developments show that it is here to follow up on the terms of its agreement with the Union government.But here is a word of caution. Union home minister Amit Shah, who has fought many tricky political battles for twenty years, is more than a match for the youthful adversaries he faces in the form of the CJP. There are already attempts to divide their rank and file. The “midnight deal” with climate activist Sonam Wangchuk to end his fast could well be in that category of tactics. There are also efforts to wean away sections of the CJP by using influential BJP contacts.In the case of the removal of Pradhan from the Cabinet, the regime first offered to change his portfolio. When CJP insisted on his resignation, the government had to accept. Still, not only were RSS youth groups and those with a shakha background actively mobilised against the surging youth crowds, the RSS simultaneously announced plans to reach out to the protesting ‘generation’ of youth and students.Members of the Bangiyo Hindu Jagaran Mancha protest against the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and youth protesters in Kolkata, July 30, 2026. Photo: PTIFifth, we do not know as yet the role played by BJP allies such as Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in restraining Modi from taking any adventurous course. Did they insist that Modi-Shah yield to the agitator’s demands? We are yet to know the cascading influence of the CJP agitation on the BJP’s allies in states.§The Congress party has undoubtedly emerged unscathed from the recent turmoil to become the leading Opposition group. And this is the sixth takeaway from recent developments. It established its sway within the INDIA grouping.There was a time when regional parties like the Trinamool Congress, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Aam Aadmi Party had nursed national ambitions. They contested elections far from their traditional bastions and set up all-India offices in the capital. The Telangana Rashtra Samithi became the BRS with Bharat in it, and the TMC opened its offices at Windsor Place. But none could counter the Modi government for they lacked national presence, perspective oragenda.The Congress, on the other hand, followed its own programmes. Unlike the BJP’s authoritarian matrix, the party provided a democratic alternative to organisational management. Consider the crises in Kerala, Karnataka and Punjab. Though time-consuming, in the long run, its democratic process are superior to Shah’s ad hoc appointments of chief ministers and party presidents.Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, who initially did not vacate the position, tastefully withdrew in the end. He did not join the BJP and quietly announced retirement from active politics. In Punjab, the mainstream media went the whole hog with reports about a “rebellion” within the Congress. It played up leadership claims by rival leaders. “Look how the Congress groups are fighting for the ‘chair’,” Modi took a gleeful swipe at the party.Indeed, Congress leaders had boycotted the central party observer despatched to talk to different leaders. But in roughly a week, matters were sorted out in a democratic manner. But when it comes to the BJP, the mainstream media focuses on the “wisdom” of the central leadership in handling all conflicts.§Just before the CJP protests began, Amit Shah had a shock when his move to wrest two-thirds majority and impose the delimitation Bill encountered opposition from the BJP’s allies. He had not expected this.The controversial Viksit Bharat Shiksha Adhishthan (VBSA) Bill, 2025, also faced fierce objections from allies like the Telugu Desam Party, which feared erosion of legitimate state rights due to the overriding powers it gives to the Union government. Central universities also opposed its provisions. The discussions on the Bill were once again blocked at its meeting on July 10.The Chief Ministers-Prime Minister removal Bill has also been deferred due to objections from allies and a pending Joint Parliamentary Committee report that will not be ready in this session. Even some BJP members of the JPC wanted ‘more time to study it in more detail.’The fact is that Shah can no longer impose Bills like the one in 2019 that ‘reorganised’ the state of Jammu and Kashmir without prior consultation.The fate of the delimitation Bill, which was to be introduced in parliament on April 16, during the last session, looks equally uncertain due to the changed political scenario. The government climbed down to assure a uniform 50% proportional increase in the number of seats for every state. However, BJP allies in the southern states are yet to respond to the new formula. And Shah looks too weak to impose his views. The Bill did not feature on the tentative list of business for the ongoing session of parliament.The CJP upsurge coincided with an unusually large number of protests across the country. Among them are farmers and the Ken-Betwa delta residents.Such was the sweep of the protests that Modi’s residence, a no-entry area for agitators since the regime came to power, suddenly became the venue for protests by Opposition MPs led by Gandhi. They were all pushed into a waiting police vehicle on 21 July and dropped at distant police stations. Many, including Gandhi, were bleeding in the face as police dragged them away.Rahul Gandhi being dragged away by police in Delhi. Photo: Congress party.Before Modi, there was no bar on protests outside the prime minister’s house. It was a regular practice, including by Anna Hazare supporters and today’s BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur. The biggest protest at former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s house was by the relatives of the hijacked Indian Airlines aircraft.§Paranoia is intrinsic to the mindset of authoritarians and spin dictators. Look at any well-stocked library. You will find rows of books on the kind of intricate housing complexes they maintained for themselves. Very little is known about Modi’s new abode now being built near the super-secure Seva Thirth office complex. But if the sketchy details divulged four years ago are to be believed, Modi’s new housing complex has many features of those built by fellow authoritarians.The most important aspect is the secrecy attached to the construction, even though, with a Rs. 467 crore budget, it is the most high-profile Central Vista project coming up on Dara Shikoh road. Besides the main residence on the ground and first floors, it will contain the Prime Minister’s home office, an indoor sports facility, support staff quarters, a SPG office, and a Seva Sadan, among other structures meant for utilities. It will also feature a subterranean “VIP tunnel” accessible from the home office.The tunnel will connect the residence to the Executive Enclave, which will house the Prime Minister’s Office, the new parliament and the Vice-President’s residence. It has been reported that the location of the new residence was selected with an eye to providing better segregation of high-security routes from general public movement.Coming up on a built-up area of 2,26,203 square feet, the residence itself will spread over 36,328 square feet. With the mainstream media obediently silent on the distorted priorities of the Modi government, the criticism of the regime’s investment priorities comes from the international media. Does Modi really need a new housing complex? Do not expect India’s loyal mainstream media to go into such questions.Instead, the BBC has reported that the present Lok Kalyan Marg (formerly Race Course Road), chosen by Rajiv Gandhi in 1984, is a 12-acre complex with five bungalows and sprawling lawns. It is around 3 km away from Rashtrapati Bhavan and parliament. Besides the residential quarters, it has accommodation for guests, offices, meeting rooms, a theatre and a helipad.A few years ago, an underground tunnel was built to connect it to nearby Safdarjung airport. “The Indian prime minister occupies an entire street while 10 Downing Street is just a door with a number in London, UK,” Delhi-based architect Gautam Bhatia told the BBC.In an age of fractured mandates, personality cults and transactional alliances, P. Raman brings clarity to India’s shifting political equations. With Realpolitik, the veteran journalist peers beneath the slogans and spin to reveal the power plays, spectacle, crises and insecurities driving India’s politics.