By Binodan K D Sarma
By the end of the 2026 general elections in Assam, one term that could become popular amongst the citizens is “Gen-Z.” The few uninitiated may get confused with the term’s striking phonetic similarity to “Genji” – the Assamese term for vest. And perhaps in some symbolic manner, they are not far from thinking so, since this could be a life vest for the dipping standards of Indian politics in general. Politics of late, has become murkier, and atrociously vindictive. Politics is now ‘mid’, ‘cheugy’ and ‘basic’ if we were to hear the opinion of the Indian Gen-Z. Yet, in Assam, a Gen-Z electoral candidate from Central Guwahati constituency, Kunki Chowdhury has ‘aura farmed’ her popularity. Her foray into the world of politics contesting against a BJP veteran like Vijay Gupta has got the internet and media discussing and debating feverishly. It has drawn interesting opinions from the likes of Parakala Prabhakar, the noted economist and husband of India’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman. Mr. Prabhakar in a video message on social media platform Instagram, has lauded Kunki’s presence as a ray of hope not just for Assam but also for Andhra Pradesh to inspire the Gen-Z to move away from political apathy and participate on ground, head-on to contest the hegemony tendences of politics in Assam.
Why Kunki’s debut is creating such a strong sentiment can perhaps be understood by the collective apathy of young voters across Assam and perhaps even India seeking fresh blood to take on real issues and not religion based partisan politics. There has been much noise about the change that Balen Shah and his merry men and women have brought about in Nepal. And this is something that seasoned players like Gupta and the chief minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, are aware of. That Kunki is a formidable force and that her campaign rooted in real issues that people seek solutions for from their elected representative.
Assam has close to 29% of voter base who are between the age group of 18-29 age bracket. This group is a formidable decisive factor if they decide to cast votes in favour of a change that impacts them. Multiple studies have revealed that they are motivated by real changes that impact society and their lives rather than divisive issues like caste and religion, which is the dominant narrative of most of the Indian election campaigns, specifically BJP’s. Kunki has not escaped this onslaught either. The chief minister issued a press statement on her mother’s food choices being anti Hindu/Sanatani. So much so, he repeated this statement multiple times in his campaign. What followed this attack is the more interesting part. The internet, across India and Assam rallied behind Kunki. Influencers and content creators came heavily on the chief minister as well as on the kind of politics that was on display. The old school political campaign was being challenged on the internet, the medium that holds maximum influence for Gen Z voters. Kunki herself dealt with the episode with utmost grace condemning the CM for his statement but not vilifying him. This is where the Gen-Z audience excels. Unlike recent old school politicians who stoop to personal attacks, the young candidates, learn to look beyond and speak the truth gracefully.
A big question arises here – Will all this support across the internet, get Kunki votes? On ground the case could be different. The constituency she fights in is new. The 1.91 lakh voter base is dominant with a large faction of non-Assamese population, which in a way could favour the candidature of Vijay Gupta. But the voters have always surprised us. They often tend to look beyond identity to support cause-based politics. The area is fraught with basic amenity issues like water supply, bad roads, water logging, garbage dumping and traffic jams. In this case Kunki’s education background in education leadership from the prestigious University College London plays an effective role. Her campaign is designed in similar lines of how Mamdani shaped his narrative in New York to become a mayor. She candidly speaks of the possible solutions she aims to bring for her constituency to solve these issues. Her “Knock every Door” campaign has gathered much noise, compared to what a 70-year-old Gupta, seems to be promising. This is also something that one should note of the Gen-Z – they like to keep things simple and easy to comprehend. Complexity leads to anxiety and Kunki wants to avoid this while making her electoral promises. Assam goes to vote on April 9. Kunki’s fate will be decided on that day. And so will be Assam’s and central Guwahati’s. And irrespective of the result, Kunki will remain a name to be reckoned with. She will continue to inspire, hopefully new faces across India, to discard the political apathy and step into the race beyond the social media activism that this generation actively engages in. India needs this desperately, so that the country and her states look beyond divisive politics, and the citizens taste progressiveness with results and not empty words.
(The author is an avid reader and observer of politics in India. The opinions expressed here are personal)
