Congress Targets Gen Z Voters as BJP Faces Growing Youth Discontent

Congress, once dominant among older voters, is attempting to win back the younger electorate by embracing platforms like Instagram and aligning with recent student movements such as the NEET protests. Rahul Gandhi’s recent parliamentary remarks, campus engagements and playful social-media interactions are designed to appear authentic to Gen Z, a strategy praised by former party figure Sanjay Jha as more natural than the prime minister’s approach.

Data shows the BJP’s share among 18-25-year-olds rose from 34% in 2014 to 41% in 2019, but no party has secured a distinct youth base in the 2024 election, leaving the 2029 contest wide open. Projections suggest roughly 36.4 crore Indians aged 18-32 will be eligible to vote, with the largest concentrations in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra. However, Congress’s organizational weakness in these key states could limit its ability to convert online attention into ballots. The rise of the digital-first Cockroach Janta Party illustrates that young voters can mobilise outside traditional parties, posing both a challenge and an opportunity for Congress to present a credible alternative governance model.