Abhijeet Dipke successor named: Who is Ajinkya Shinde?

Thirty five-year-old Shinde is CJP’s national organisation in-charge and regarded as one of the party’s key strategists, working largely behind the scenes

MUMBAI: Soon after Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke, co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and chief spokesperson Saurabh Das were detained, the outfit named Ajinkya Shinde to lead the party in their absence, signalling that its movement would continue despite the arrests.

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leader Ajinkya Shinde addresses a press conference during a protest demanding the resignation of India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter roll irregularities linked to the "special intensive revision" (SIR), near Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on October 10, 2026. (Photo by Arun SANKAR / AFP) (AFP)

On Saturday, the CJP released a pre-recorded video of Dipke announcing Shinde’s appointment and urging supporters to follow him. “If you are watching this video, it means that I, Ashutosh and Saurabh have all been arrested,” Dipke said. “After us, Ajinkya will lead this movement. So, all of you watching these videos, please follow Ajinkya Shinde. He will carry forward the CJP.”

Thirty five-year-old Shinde is CJP’s national organisation in-charge and regarded as one of the party’s key strategists, working largely behind the scenes.

Originally from Latur, he holds a BTech degree from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University in Lonere, Raigad district. He worked in the information technology sector, after which he served as the Maharashtra youth wing coordinator of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) before joining the CJP. Dipke announced his appointment as the party’s national organisation in-charge in August.

Shinde was also among the CJP leaders booked by Mumbai police over a protest at Shivaji Park earlier this month. He has been associated with the party’s ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign, which seeks to improve the condition of government schools across the country.

Following the detention of his colleagues, Shinde called on supporters to continue their agitation, accusing the BJP-led government of attempting to prevent people from assembling in the national capital.

“This dictatorial government of Modi-Shah has detained three CJP leaders from the Delhi airport this morning. It is because they are scared of the unity of this country,” Shinde said in a video posted on Instagram.

He alleged that the detentions were intended to prevent a repeat of an earlier protest at Jantar Mantar. According to Shinde, that agitation had challenged the BJP leadership and forced it to seek the resignation of then union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“Modi-Shah’s fear proves that we have won half the battle and this is the beginning of a new battle. All we are demanding is the voting rights of people who have been deprived of them. We are also demanding the resignation of Gyanesh (Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner), who stole the votes,” he said.