Political Parties Compete to Woo Youth

August 26, 2026

Recently, there has been widespread buzz about the rise of the G-Gen and Gen-Alpha youth groups in India and neighboring countries. Youth power has sparked revolt in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In India, the youth protest at Jantar Mantar over the paper leak issue was so spectacular that it stunned the country’s political parties. They have now realized that the power of youth power for vote bank gains can no longer be ignored. The youth adopted the term “cockroach” coined by the Chief Justice of India’s Supreme Court and formed the Cockroach Janata Party. Serious thinkers in the country believe that the combined power of Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha has expanded far beyond the scope of this party. The way opposition party leaders attended the student protest at Jantar Mantar led some to associate the Cockroach Janata Party with the opposition parties. It should be noted that the awakening of youth power is not a captive of any single political party. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi is striving to become the voice of the youth in his own way. The way opposition parties, especially the BJP, criticized and ridiculed his “Chhatraon Ki Goonj” program in Pune, Maharashtra, suggests that the BJP, both in power at the Centre and in Maharashtra, has also recognized the emerging power of youth power. Therefore, in its newly formed executive committee, it emphasized dialogue and publicity with the youth and also kept the average age of the executive members low. Although some critics of the Cockroach Janata Party call it the B-team of the Aam Aadmi Party, the reality is that the evolving voice of youth in India can no longer be contained. The demonstrations by young children in the Gen-Alpha age group demanding better educational resources in their schools suggest that young people are beginning to recognize their own right to justice. Conducting academic examinations smoothly remains a challenge, and Gen-G youth are raising their voices in protest against this problem. The cancellation of examinations in Jharkhand cannot be ignored. Although it has been alleged that Rahul Gandhi became active too late in this vocal demand for cancellation of exams through his letter. However, in the case of the young people who are now losing their jobs, if this order applies to all exams conducted after 2014, their protests cannot be ignored. When students protested in Bihar, the issue of paper leaks was also at issue. Their rebellion was turning violent. Therefore, the youth’s demands cannot be ignored there either. There, too, there was massive opposition to the filing of cases against students. The short story is that the youth of the country is emerging as a conscious generation. Politicians will not be able to deal with them through their traditional politics. Any leader or party in power, whether in power or about to enter the electoral fray in the near future, and hoping to win, will no longer see their work accomplished with grants, freebies, or freebies. Today, every political party wants to woo this emerging youth force, but this generation will not readily follow them. Only the party that promises to address their problems on a priority basis will receive their support. Empty slogans will no longer win over the young generation.