For much of Narendra Modi’s 12 years ruling India, he’s looked nearly unbeatable at the polls. This weekend he swiftly yielded to a group that didn’t exist a few months ago, energizing opponents who have struggled to gain traction against one of the nation’s most powerful leaders.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday to take accountability for a series of exam scandals in the face of a student protest movement that mobilized thousands of young people in New Delhi and started to spread around India. The Cockroach Janta Party, which formed two months ago as a social media joke, declared victory and called off its demonstrations while vowing more action “to solve all the problems in this country.”
It was the first time since Modi took power in 2014 that one of his Cabinet ministers had resigned under public pressure, a sign of the threat posed to the prime minister and the prospects of his ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. He soon faces a key election in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, where jobs for young people are a major concern for many voters.
