Dharmendra Pradhan out, ‘E20 Janta Party’ now makes waves on the internet

Even as the ‘Cockroach Janta Party’ (CJP) wave is yet to settle, another similar satirical social media outfit has emerged — the 'E20 Janta Party’ - seemingly targeting Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari over the Ethanol-blended petrol initiative linked to him that has drawn mixed reactions in the country. One of the several social media handles named 'E20 Janta Party' has gained over 48,000 followers on X and has called for Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari's resignation (PTI and X) Delhi's Jantar Mantar became the national talk amid the youth-led CJP protest over the last few days with the ‘party’, that emerged as a social media-led satirical outfit floated by a Boston University graduate named Abhijeet Dipke and turned into a mega movement, forcing education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign from the post over exam irregularities. With curtains drawing on the massive CJP protest, social media pages of ‘E20 Janta Party’ are getting noticed and followed by many, despite the identity of its founder not being known yet. E20 fuel is a blend of 20 per cent ethanol and 80 per cent petrol, promoted to cut crude oil imports, lower vehicle emissions, and support farmers. It is criticised due to vehicle damage risks in older models, lower fuel efficiency, and high water usage for crop production.

‘E20 Janta Party’ emerges on social media An X account named ‘E20 Janta Party’ dates back to May 2024, indicating that the name previously was different and has been changed only recently to tap on the current social media trend of addressing issues through satire — as the CJP did. The ‘E20 Janta Party’ named account on X, one of the many with similar names gaining traction lately, reportedly started getting attention on the weekend and gained more than 25,000 followers on X in a few hours Sunday. It had over 48,000 followers on Monday morning. E20 Janta Party crossed ,100,000 followers on Instagram on Sunday. Amid growing followers, the outfit said it was not seeking subsidies, free fuel or withdrawal of ethanol-blended petrol, but only demanding that consumers be given the choice to buy the fuel they want.

In one of its recent posts, the outfit said “E20 Janta Party is not a political party.” “We are an independent citizens’ movement focused on raising issues that affect the common people. Our only agenda is to ensure transparency, protect consumer rights, and encourage an open public discussion on the real impact of India’s E20 (20% Ethanol Blended Petrol) policy,” the post shared shortly after midnight on Monday read. “We do not support or endorse any political party. Our support is for the people not for any political ideology,” it said, adding, “Please don’t get distracted by rumors about who is behind this movement or where it is being operated from. Such speculation only takes attention away from the real issue.” “Our demand is simple: accountability, transparency, and the right of consumers to be heard,” the post read. Another post called for the resignation of Nitin Gadkari. “Nitin Gadkari ji must Resign!”