‘Dimagi Naxal Party’: New social media ‘party’ emerges, echoing Cockroach Janata Party model
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New Delhi: A new social media page styled as a political outfit — the “Dimagi Naxal Party” — has rapidly gained traction online, drawing over 50,000 followers within a day of its launch. The page, which lists its founder simply as “One Dimagi Indian,” adopts the slogan: “Think, Research, Resist.”
The page’s emergence follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day address from the Red Fort on August 15, in which he warned against what he termed “dimagi naxals” — people he said harbour a Naxal mindset and seek to create unrest despite the decline of armed Naxalism. While the Prime Minister did not name specific groups, the remark triggered a sharp political row, with opposition leaders hitting back and some, including Congress’s P. Chidambaram, saying they were “proud” to be called “dimagi naxals.”
Though the identity of those behind the “Dimagi Naxal Party” page remains unclear, its posts have largely focused on questioning several central government policies, positioning the page as a critical voice in the current political discourse. The rapid growth in followers mirrors the pattern seen earlier this year with the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), another social media-led phenomenon that began as a satirical response to a controversial remark and evolved into a wider youth-led campaign.
In his speech, Modi said that while “armed Naxals” had been eliminated, “dimagi naxals” — those he alleged were embedded in public life and even in government committees — continued to try to influence policy and “brainwash” youth. He called for such individuals to be “identified and isolated” to safeguard the country’s development trajectory.
The remark drew immediate criticism from opposition parties, who saw it as an attempt to label dissenters and critics as anti-national. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju later clarified that the Prime Minister’s comment was aimed at supporters of Maoists, separatists, and those advocating the restoration of Article 370, not at opposition leaders as such.
The “Dimagi Naxal Party”’s rise closely parallels the trajectory of the Cockroach Janata Party, which emerged in May after a controversial remark by a senior judicial figure comparing certain youth activists to “cockroaches” and “parasites.” That page, started by activist Abhijeet Deepkey, quickly snowballed into a broader youth movement and even contributed to political pressure that led to the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Like CJP, the new “Dimagi Naxal Party” appears to be leveraging social media to channel discontent and frame a narrative around governance and policy, though its long-term direction and organisational structure remain uncertain.