00:00So everybody's after trying to tap in and get clocking with Gen Z.
00:05But at the end of the day, their attention matters.
00:08Why? Because they are increasingly becoming the largest voter base.
00:13Think of UP, for example.
00:15The battle for UP is 2027, may still be months away,
00:19but the political parties are already preparing for a very different kind of voter.
00:23A young voter.
00:24The generation that is more digitally connected than vocal,
00:27increasingly winning to take its grievances straight to the streets,
00:32and that is forcing political parties to rethink how they listen, respond and even communicate.
00:40From Mahoba, where school children came out on the highway over a broken waterlogged road,
00:46to students' protests over education-related issues in several other districts,
00:50young discontent, or youth discontent, let me call it that,
00:56is becoming harder to ignore.
00:58The response from the UOB government has been, you know,
01:02to put accountability and monitoring at the center of its approach.
01:06Now, what is it that the UP Chief Minister is doing?
01:09The UP Chief Minister has ordered accountability for negligence,
01:13immediate action on teachers, shortages, administrative lapses,
01:17along with tighter monitoring of educational institutes,
01:21special focus on educational institutes.
01:23The Chief Minister's office officials have also been appointed as nodal officers
01:28to keep a closer watch on how schools are functioning
01:31and whether these concerns are actually being addressed.
01:34And the focus on schools is also visible in Ayodhya,
01:39where the administration has now moved to restrict access to government-run schools.
01:45Outsiders, including some YouTubers and people associated with the social media,
01:50will need prior permission now to enter their schools.
01:54Unauthorized photography, remember, because so many reels are doing the rounds,
01:58media is there talking about all these protests as well.
02:01All these unauthorized photography, as they've called it,
02:05and videography has also been banned,
02:08with the district education authorities directing schools to strictly enforce order.
02:16And there's another side to this entire political recalibration,
02:20remember, the fight for young voter that is moving from classroom to the smartphone.
02:25The Samajwadi party is building a Gen Z-focused digital campaign
02:29ahead of the assembly polls.
02:31The focus is very clear.
02:32Build a youth-focused digital campaign ahead of 2027 polls,
02:35with the 18 to 29 age group accounting to around 21% of the electorate.
02:43Now, that's a huge vote.
02:46Will it be a swing vote?
02:47Will it be something that will vote in tandem?
02:51That's going to be interesting, especially in a state like UP.
02:53Now, the strategy includes AI-generated content, memes, short-form videos
02:58to present the party's policies, issues, achievements in a format designed for young, restless audiences.
03:05The larger objective is to broaden their traditional support base
03:09while putting jobs, development, opportunities at the center of the pitch to young voter.
03:14And this is where the larger political contest is really taking place.
03:18Because from BJP and the government, the challenge is to turn administrative action into youth confidence
03:25with a bit of tightening on who gets to report and who does not.
03:28And for the opposition, it is to turn digital engagement into electoral support.
03:33What's common?
03:35Gen Z.
03:36Because Gen Z is not simply another vote bank to be addressed during the election campaign.
03:42They are a generation that can question the system, say, you know, go ahead and shape the entire online narrative
03:48and also influence the political conversations long before polling, even inside their homes,
03:53with people who are voting inside the family.
03:56Change their mindset as well.
03:57And in a state as electorally crucial, as divided as well as Uttar Pradesh,
04:05the race to win that conversation has already begun.
04:35Gen Z.
04:39Gen Z.
04:45Gen Z.
04:46Gen Z.
04:47Gen Z.
04:59Gen Z.
05:01Gen Z.
05:07Gen Z.
05:23Gen Z.
05:27Gen Z.
05:40Gen Z.
05:43Gen Z.
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