CJP Students Protest: The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP)-led students' protest in Delhi compelled the nation to pay attention to Generation Z, commonly known as Gen Z. It was probably India's first major protest where the participants amazed the authorities with their creativity via social media short videos, posters, and slogans. While the young generation has been vocal on the social and political issues, their share in active politics is surprisingly low.
GenZ's Low Participation
While Gen Z constitutes over a quarter of the country's population, only six MPs and 20 MLAs belong to this generation. There are only a total of 26 public representatives of this age group, showing their less active participation in active politics.
Generation Z refers to those born between 1997 and 2012, and as per the 2011 census data, their share in the total population of India is over 25 per cent. While their share is remarkable, a large portion of this population has not been able to contest the polls due to the minimum age criteria of 25 years.
The 2024 Lok Sabha elections were the first opportunity for Gen Z to participate in any general polls. As per the Election Commission of India (ECI), only 98 of the total 8,360 candidates belonged to this age group. Only six of these candidates managed to win the polls.
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List Of Gen Z MPs:
Pushpendra Saroj (27) - SP, Kaushambi, UP
Priya Saroj (27) - SP, Machhlishahr, UP
Sagar Khandre (28) - Congress, Bidar, Karnataka
Priyanka Satish Jarkiholi (29) - Congress, Chikkodi, Karnataka
Sanjana Jatav (28) - Congress, Bharatpur, Rajasthan
Shambhavi (28) - LJP(RV), Samastipur, Bihar
Only 20 MLAs
Their share in the state legislative assemblies is even less, as only 20 of the total 4,131 MLAs from 28 states and 3 union territories belong to this generation. Apart from this, several of these elected younger public representatives already belong to families with backgrounds in politics.
However, by the 2029 Lok Sabha elections, Gen Z is set to become the largest voter force. As per the reports, Gen Z will comprise 26.3 per cent of the total population by 2031. While the millennials will remain 21.7 per cent, and older generations will be limited to 24 per cent.