Protest as Deliberation? Digital Mobilisation, Pressure-Group Politics and the Deliberative Public Sphere: The Case of the CJP

A satirical youth movement, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), originated online in May 2026 and rapidly evolved into a sustained offline protest campaign at India's Jantar Mantar, challenging traditional notions of protest and deliberation in democratic practice. The CJP demonstrated that such movements can function simultaneously as discursive arenas for public reasoning and emerging pressure-group actors seeking policy responses from authorities. Drawing on secondary reportage, official statements, and movement documents up to June 2026, the study situates the case within theories of the public sphere, connective action, agenda-setting, and pressure-group politics. While the movement did not achieve a definitive institutional outcome during this period, it highlighted specific contributions to participation, agenda-setting, and government responsiveness.

Fatima, J., & Chaudhary, U. (2026). Protest as Deliberation? Digital Mobilisation, Pressure-Group Politics and the Deliberative Public Sphere: The Case of the CJP. Prismatic Horizons: Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 62. https://doi.org/10.67860/phjssh.v4.i2.157