Guwahati | The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Tuesday announced the launch of a membership drive in Assam and said it would soon constitute its state committee as part of efforts to expand its organisational presence, with students, youth and working-class communities at the centre of its outreach.

Addressing a press conference at the Guwahati Press Club, CJP National Media Coordinator Sheikh Sahiluddin Shah said the process of forming the Assam state committee would begin after the organisation concludes its scheduled meetings in Maharashtra and Delhi.

Shah said the party was currently consulting journalists, advocates and students to gather feedback that would help shape its future organisational strategy and policy agenda in the state.

“The purpose of today’s meeting is to discuss the outcome of the earlier student movement and seek suggestions from senior journalists, advocates and students. Their feedback will help us prepare our future roadmap,” he said.

According to Shah, the newly launched membership drive will form the basis for constituting the Assam unit.

“We have released membership forms, and the Assam state committee will be constituted from among those who join the organisation. Our upcoming meetings in Maharashtra and Delhi will also determine the future direction of CJP, including whether it will continue as a student-led platform or evolve into a full-fledged political party,” he said.

He said while students and young people remain the organisation’s primary focus, CJP also intends to engage with workers across different sectors.

“Our priority is students and youth, but we also want to work with delivery workers and other sections of the labour force and raise issues affecting them,” Shah said.

He added that the organisation has so far relied largely on social media to build its support base and currently does not have a physical office in Assam.

“Our outreach has primarily been through Instagram. We have not yet launched an official CJP Assam social media page. Several pages exist in our name, but they are independently run and are not affiliated with the organisation,” he said.

Shah also questioned the deployment of police personnel outside the Guwahati Press Club during the event.

“We were only addressing a press conference and not holding a protest. The heavy police presence outside the venue was therefore surprising,” he said.

Referring to earlier demonstrations in Guwahati, Shah alleged that 11 individuals associated with the movement had previously been detained by police before being released following intervention by the organisation’s national leadership.

Describing the movement as peaceful and democratic, Shah said he had spent nearly 37 days in Delhi participating in student-led protests and maintained that young people should have a stronger voice in public affairs.

“Our movement has always been democratic and student-centric. We believe students and youth should actively participate in raising public issues through peaceful means,” he said.

He further alleged that some participants in previous protests had faced police intimidation and asserted that CJP would continue supporting students seeking to raise issues through democratic processes.

Appealing to young people across Assam to join the organisation, Shah said CJP would also continue engaging with Opposition Members of Parliament to ensure issues concerning students and youth receive attention at the national level.