Jul 29, 2026 16:45 pm IST

Opinion | Indian Political Parties Are Now Stuck In An Awkward Gen Z 'Situationship'

For Gen Z to say "Bet" or "No cap", there is a lot of homework ahead for political parties. 'Breadcrumbing' them just won't work.

Madhavan Narayanan Madhavan Narayanan Columnist

Madhavan Narayanan Columnist

I am sitting at a McDonald's outlet. At the next table, I see two boys and a girl, probably in their late teens or early 20s, opening a box that contains a big birthday cake to celebrate. I take a start. Given that I have grown up with establishments advertising "Outside Food Not Allowed". This is strange to me. Mercifully, the kids order an add-on burger meal.

On Sunday, as the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) headed towards a political victory after weeks of their attention-grabbing Jantar Mantar protests, I watched a popular chat show in a Tamil TV channel, in which people variously stacked as Boomers, Gen X and Millennials, gasped in awe and smirked as the tribe broadly known as Gen Z listed the workplace requirements they seek from their would-be recruiters: no micro-management, flexible hours, WFH at will, joining bonus, retention bonus, midweek off-days, free gizmos, and such.

Walking 'Red Flag' Detectors

It dawns on me that there is a new generation out there that unconsciously demands or assumes, sometimes with a stubborn entitlement, what to the previous generations meant earned privileges and acquired permissions. But the angst and the anger at Jantar Mantar that led to the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan showed us that unemployment, tough competition, higher aspirations, and career uncertainties are objects of stress for Gen Z, contrasting the perceived sense of entitlement.

You cannot paint an entire generation with the same colour. There are struggling Gen Z-ers in rural areas trying to get their first graduate........

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