00:00The big race to win over Gen Z, the demographic cohort between the ages of 18 and 29, it's become
00:07the political buzzword.
00:09From the BJP to the Congress to the Kokrut Janata Party, everyone at the moment seems to be busy wooing
00:16and discovering the youth.
00:18While the Narendra Modi government has now decided to send its ministers to university campuses to engage with students and
00:25be more active on social media,
00:27the Congress, with Rahul Gandhi at the helm, is holding student rallies across the country.
00:33How is this Gen Z politics playing out? Why is it the most sought-after vote bank?
00:40That's our special focus tonight. Take a look at our top story.
00:51A race is on to Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
00:53Political parties are working overtime to win over the youth.
00:57At a recent cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed his colleagues to reach out to university students.
01:03Under the One Day, One University initiative, a union minister will visit a university every day, interact with students, listen
01:10to their concerns and discuss issues affecting young people.
01:14The outreach is also expected to highlight government schemes related to education, employment and youth development.
01:20This is in addition to a digital outreach drive launched by the government and the BJP.
01:26And the Prime Minister is leading from the front, engaging with the youth on Instagram.
01:49The Congress, too, is in the race.
01:51The party is holding Chatro Ki Guj rallies in almost 800 cities.
01:55The next one on Saturday in Pune is exclusively for women and will be addressed by Rahul Gandhi.
02:02At an event held to mark the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi on Thursday, the leader of opposition claimed that
02:07his party listened to the concerns of the youth, unlike the government.
02:11When Mr. Narendra Modi says, I forgive the students, meaning what, you are a bunch of jokers, I am very
02:18smart, I know everything, you don't understand everything, and I forgive you.
02:23Then suddenly they got scared and Mohan Bhagwadji says, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, we should not
02:29attack the students.
02:30You are attacking the students every day because you believe you know the truth.
02:34If a student comes to me, in my mind, he knows or she knows her truth better than I will
02:42ever know their truth.
02:43My job is to listen to it.
02:48Meanwhile, the Cockroach Janta Party, which is acting as a pressure group for now, has launched a campaign to fix
02:53schools without adequate facilities.
03:07The youth protests over paper leaks at Jantar Mantha, that eventually led to the resignation of a union minister, have
03:13proved to be a wake-up call for the country's politicians.
03:16The youth are now a vote bank nobody can afford to ignore.
03:19Political parties are struggling to catch up with a generation high on aspirations and restless for results.
03:26And they realize a lot depends on their communication strategy.
03:30Bureau Report, India Today
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