The Cockroach Party (CJP), which has positioned itself as a ‘civic pressure’ group, has unveiled its first National Working Committee (NWC) and national office-bearers. But a closer look at the backgrounds of several of its key functionaries points to a striking pattern: a significant portion of its leadership has previously worked with or remains associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The overlap is particularly visible among the party’s senior organisational and political leadership, raising questions over whether CJP is genuinely a new political formation or simply another platform emerging from the AAP’s political and organisational ecosystem.
According to the details provided, CJP’s founding leadership includes Abhijeet Dipke as Founder/Convener, Saurav Das as Co-Convener and Ashutosh Ranka as Co-Convener. The party has also appointed Ajinkya Shinde to handle organisation, Aafreen Nawaz as Secretary, Vijay Reddy Mallangi as Media head, Vaishnavi Gaur for Research & Policy, Ratna Singh for Legal, Yogesh Ingale for Finance and Rohan Deshpande for Technology.
Its zonal leadership includes Deepak Baliyan in the North, Yogesh Ingale in the West, Vijay Reddy Mallangi in the South and Ankit Bhardwaj for the East/Northeast.
Team @Cockroachisback! Ready to give it all.
Onwards and Upwards. pic.twitter.com/fwUHL29HJD
— Ashutosh Ranka (@AshutoshRanka) August 6, 2026
The names, however, are hardly unfamiliar in AAP circles.
Abhijeet Dipke: From AAP’s Digital Machinery To CJP Founder
Abhijeet Dipke, now projected as the founder and convener of CJP, previously worked with the Aam Aadmi Party. A Reuters report mentioned this when the Cockroach Party was trending on social media.
Dipke’s association with AAP seem to have begun in 2018 and continuing until 2021. During that period, he was involved with AAP’s digital communication and social media ecosystem and was described as working on political messaging, memes and online outreach. His own LinkedIn profile gives away all this information.
Dipke as a key member of AAP’s social media machinery during the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections, where he reportedly worked on meme campaigns, parody videos, online messaging and digital mobilisation targeting millennials and first-time voters.
Reports from 2020 Delhi polls described Dipke as part of AAP’s election war room and social media coordination team, working under AAP IT cell head Ankit Lal. He was reportedly involved in designing viral online campaigns aimed at projecting Kejriwal positively while attacking the BJP and Congress through memes, Bollywood references, edited videos and social media humour. Dipke himself reportedly stated that political messaging had to be simplified for younger audiences through “memes and videos”.
Further reports identified him as a media studies graduate from Pune who later served in communications roles connected to AAP and Delhi government outreach campaigns. According to details circulating online, Dipke later pursued a Master’s degree in Public Relations at Boston University in the United States.
His links to AAP leader Manish Sisodia can be seen through his own elaborate posts from the past. In one post, he thanks Sisodia for giving him opportunities and also thanks Atishi after he quit the war room to continue further studies.
In another post, he is seen hugging Sisodia and shares his ‘commitment to AAP’.
Today, the same political communicator occupies the top position in a group presenting itself as a new alternative.
Saurav Das: From Kejriwal Simp To Co-Convenor
Saurav Das presented himself as an independent journalist, yet his record were quite telling about political leanings, particularly his affinity with Arvind Kejriwal. His recent allegations against Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma were amplified by Kejriwal himself, raising questions about the narrative both were promoting.
Is this true? V v explosive https://t.co/hzQp6y3HPe
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 9, 2026
Das was very vocal about Delhi’s pollution after the BJP came to power but kept his mouth zipped when the previous AAP government was in power or if there was any whimper about Punjab’s stubble-burning issue.
Ashutosh Ranka: AAP Volunteer Network To CJP’s National Leadership
Ashutosh Ranka, appointed CJP’s Co-Convener, also has an established AAP connection.
A profile published by ThePrint described Ranka as a national spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party, while identifying him as a public health consultant and IIT Kanpur and London School of Economics graduate.
Ranka reportedly remained associated with AAP’s volunteer network from 2019 until 2026, before becoming part of the CJP leadership.
That puts another senior CJP office-bearer squarely within AAP’s organisational ecosystem before his move to the new outfit.
Ajinkya Shinde: AAP Organisational Role And CJP’s Organisation Head
The connection becomes even more striking in the case of Ajinkya Shinde, who has been given responsibility for organisation in CJP.
Shinde seems to be continuing to hold an organisational role in the Aam Aadmi Party’s Maharashtra structure and as a member of AAP’s National Organisational Building Team.
An AAP Maharashtra social media post also shows Shinde alongside senior AAP leaders at a party event.
This is not merely a case of a former AAP worker moving to a new party. It would mean a person with continuing organisational links to AAP has simultaneously taken a significant role in CJP’s national structure.
Additionally, he was seen simping for Kejriwal as recently as April 2026.
Vijay Reddy Mallangi: AAP’s Telangana Face Now CJP Media Head
Vijay Reddy Mallangi, now CJP’s media head and South Zone head, also has a substantial political history with AAP.
Mallangi reportedly worked actively with AAP in Telangana, serving as Telangana State Youth Wing Working President and as the party’s leader for the Jubilee Hills constituency in Hyderabad.
He was also involved in AAP campaigns and civic protests, including the Jhaadu Chalao Yatra and the Save KBR environmental campaign.
The man who once helped build AAP’s political presence in Telangana is now tasked with building CJP’s media and political presence in the South.
Yogesh Ingale: From AAP’s Maharashtra Machinery To CJP Finance
Yogesh Ingale, who has been appointed CJP’s Finance head and West Zone head, is also described in the supplied material as a member and functionary of AAP associated with the party’s Pune organisation.
His transition is therefore another example of an individual moving from AAP’s regional political machinery into a senior position in CJP.
Ankit Bhardwaj: AAP Volunteer To CJP Zonal Head
Ankit Bhardwaj, now designated as CJP’s East/Northeast Zonal Head, also reportedly has roots in AAP.
Bhardwaj is said to have previously worked as an AAP volunteer and worker before joining the CJP setup.
Individually, a former party worker joining another political organisation would hardly be remarkable. But when the same pattern appears across multiple senior positions in a newly formed party, it becomes a legitimate question about the origins of that organisation.
Toh shuru karay?
Arz kiya hain
1. Abhijit Dipke worked with AAP from 2020 to 2023
2. Ashutosh Ranka worked with AAP from 2019 to 2026
3. Ajinkya Shinde is still the convener of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Maharashtra youth wing.
And most importantly, he is also a member of AAP’s… pic.twitter.com/QONbhC4EmW
— Khalid Baig (@KhalidBaig85) August 6, 2026
Not Just A Coincidence?
The issue is not that former AAP members cannot form or join another political organisation. They obviously can.
The question is why a party claiming to offer something new has assembled multiple people with backgrounds in the same political organisation, including individuals who were involved in AAP’s digital operations, volunteer network, youth wing, regional machinery and organisational structure.
The pattern runs from the very top of CJP’s hierarchy down to its zonal leadership:
Abhijeet Dipke – former AAP digital/social media functionary, now CJP Founder/Convener.
Saurav Das – Bestie of Arvind Kejriwal who reports legal issues favourable to the former Delhi CM as seen recently where he pressured a sitting judge in the liquor scam case.
Ashutosh Ranka – former AAP spokesperson/volunteer network member, now CJP Co-Convener.
Ajinkya Shinde – identified in the supplied material with AAP’s Maharashtra and national organisational structures, now CJP Organisation head.
Vijay Reddy Mallangi – former AAP Telangana leader, now CJP Media head and South Zone head.
Yogesh Ingale – AAP functionary in Maharashtra, now CJP Finance head and West Zone head.
Ankit Bhardwaj – former AAP worker/volunteer, now CJP East/Northeast Zone head.
That is a substantial concentration of AAP-linked personnel for an organisation being presented as a fresh political alternative.
CJP: New Name, Same AAP Network?
The Cockroach Janta Party may be projecting itself as a new political force, but the political resumes of its top office-bearers tell a very different story.
From its Founder and Convener to its Co-Convener, Organisation head, Media head, Finance head and zonal leadership, CJP’s first national team includes multiple individuals with established links to the Aam Aadmi Party.
This is not about a stray former AAP worker joining another political outfit. The overlap runs through CJP’s core leadership and organisational machinery.
Abhijeet Dipke and Ashutosh Ranka come with AAP backgrounds. Ajinkya Shinde is linked to AAP’s organisational structure. Vijay Reddy Mallangi previously held a prominent AAP role in Telangana. Yogesh Ingale was associated with AAP’s Maharashtra machinery, while Ankit Bhardwaj previously worked as an AAP volunteer.
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