Ashutosh Ranka

Ashutosh Ranka
Born	Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Nationality	Indian
Education	IIT Kanpur (B.Tech) London School of Economics (MPA)
Alma mater	Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur London School of Economics
Occupations	Public policy professional Activist Former management consultant
Organization	Cockroach Janta Party
Known for	National spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party

Ashutosh Ranka (born 14 October) is an Indian public policy professional, activist and former management consultant. He serves as a national spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and became a prominent public face of the 2026 student protests against irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and demands for examination reforms.

Early life and education

Ranka was born and raised in Jaipur, Rajasthan. He completed his schooling at Maheshwari Public School, Jaipur (2001–2013). He earned a Bachelor of Technology degree in Materials Science and Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (2013–2017). During his time at the institute, he served as President of the Students’ Gymkhana for the 2016–17 academic year and was a member of the Dramatics Club.

He later obtained a Master of Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science, focusing on public policy and governance.

Career

After graduating from IIT Kanpur, Ranka joined McKinsey & Company as a business analyst and later worked as a management consultant and senior associate in India and London. His work covered strategy, operations, economic issues and public health. He has also been associated with organisations including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and Global Health Visions on immunisation and related programmes.

Ranka has been involved in public policy and political work in India for several years. He worked as an Associate Fellow with the Delhi Legislative Assembly and later contributed to the Aam Aadmi Party’s media and data teams, including a role as Intellectual Wing Secretary for Rajasthan. In 2025, he founded Parivartan, a citizen-led platform focused on political, educational, governance, health and environmental reforms, particularly in Rajasthan. He has written on governance and public policy for publications including ThePrint.

Cockroach Janta Party and 2026 protests

In June 2026, Ranka was appointed an official spokesperson of the Cockroach Janta Party, a youth-led movement that began as social-media satire and developed into large-scale protests over the NEET-UG paper leak, examination irregularities, official accountability, compensation for affected families, and systemic reforms in public examinations.

He emerged as one of the movement’s principal public representatives during the prolonged sit-in at Jantar Mantar in Delhi. Alongside other spokespersons, he participated in negotiations with Union ministers, including J. P. Nadda and Jitendra Singh. The protests, lasting approximately 36 days, concluded after the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and government assurances on compensation, withdrawal of cases against protesters, and further talks on examination reforms.

Ranka has stated that core members of the CJP maintain political neutrality while remaining open to support from various parties on student-related issues.

Personal life

Ranka is from a Hindu family based in Jaipur and has a brother, Abhijeet Ranka.

External links

• Ashutosh Ranka on X