“Clock it.”
“Delulu.”
“Rizz.”
A few months ago, these words would have sounded more at home on Instagram than inside Parliament.
Now, Indian politicians are using them too.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has turned to selfie-style Instagram videos and a more casual digital presence. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has launched an Instagram “Ask Me Anything” aimed at younger users. BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj has used Gen Z slang in Parliament. And politician-actor Ravi Kishan has embraced his sudden popularity among young internet users.
It may look like politicians simply trying to keep up with the internet.
But there is a bigger reason.
India’s young population is too large for political parties to ignore.
And the 2026 student protests have shown just how quickly an issue can move from Instagram to the streets.
The Gen Z Moment
India has one of the world's youngest populations.
The government says around 65% of India's population is below the age of 35.
That does not mean all of them are Gen Z, or that they will vote alike.
But it does mean younger Indians represent an enormous political audience.
The 2026 student protests made that audience particularly visible.
The movement around the NEET-UG paper leak and wider concerns over examinations spread through social media before becoming a major street protest.
Reuters reported that the movement was driven heavily by young people on Instagram, where protest organisers built a huge following. The protests eventually coincided with the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 25 July.
That combination mattered.
Young people were not just consuming political content.
They were creating it.
And politicians were watching.
ALSO WATCH: India's Gen Z Protesters Won. But What Next?
Modi Moves Closer To Instagram
Narendra Modi has been using social media for years.
But the style of communication has changed.
In August, Reuters reported that Modi had begun using selfie-style Instagram videos and more relatable content as part of an effort to connect with younger voters after the Gen Z-led protests.
The shift came soon after the protests, when youth frustration over examinations, jobs and education had become impossible to miss.
The BJP also changed its social media approach.
On 17 August, Reuters reported that the party had replaced its social media head in an organisational reshuffle, weeks after the youth protests that were heavily amplified through social media.
That does not prove the organisational change was caused by the protests.
But it does show how seriously the party is now looking at its digital strategy.
ALSO READ: What Angered Indian Gen Z in 2025?
Rahul Gandhi Is Doing It Too
This is not only a BJP story.
On 6 August, Rahul Gandhi launched an “Ask Me Anything” session on Instagram, inviting questions from students and young users.
He has also been using Instagram for more informal interactions, including questions about politics, student issues and even lighter subjects.
The approach is different from Modi's, but the destination is similar.
Go where younger voters already are.
And speak to them in a format they are comfortable with.
ALSO WATCH: India's Gen Z Protesters Won. But What Next?
When Gen Z Slang Entered Parliament
The change became almost impossible to miss inside Parliament.
During a debate linked to the examination reforms, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj used the phrase “clock it”, a piece of Gen Z internet slang.
She was not the only politician using youth language.
Terms such as “delulu” and “FOMO” also entered the political conversation during the debate.
It is easy to dismiss this as politicians trying too hard.
But the underlying shift is real.
Political communication has always adapted to the media of its time.
Television changed political campaigning.
Social media changed it again.
Now short-form video and creator-style communication are changing the language once more.
Ravi Kishan Found Himself At The Centre Of It
Then there is Ravi Kishan.
The BJP MP and actor became a meme favourite after clips of his interviews, performances and public appearances spread widely online.
Instead of resisting the jokes, Kishan leaned into them.
He told India Today that “Gen Z has accepted me as their own” and thanked young users for their creativity.
It is an interesting example of how political visibility can work in the age of memes.
A politician does not necessarily have to create the viral moment.
Sometimes the internet creates it for them.
The question is what they do next.
TL;DR | News At A Glance
India has a very young population, with around 65% of people below 35.
The 2026 student protests showed the reach of digitally organised youth movements.
PM Modi has increased his use of Instagram and selfie-style videos aimed at younger audiences.
Rahul Gandhi launched an Instagram “Ask Me Anything” aimed at students and Gen Z users.
BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj used Gen Z slang such as “clock it” in Parliament.
Ravi Kishan has openly embraced his new popularity among Gen Z.
But Gen Z is not a single political bloc, and online popularity does not automatically translate into votes.
But Gen Z Is Not A Voting Bloc
This is where the political strategy gets complicated.
Gen Z is a demographic category, not a political party.
A 20-year-old student worried about exam leaks may have very different political priorities from a 25-year-old working in Bengaluru or a 19-year-old first-time voter in Uttar Pradesh.
The 2026 protests themselves demonstrated that young people can mobilise around an issue without automatically aligning themselves with a conventional political party.
That makes them attractive to politicians.
It also makes them difficult to predict.
Why 2029 Is Already In The Conversation
India's next Lok Sabha election is expected in 2029.
For political parties, that gives them time to build relationships with a generation that is increasingly comfortable expressing political opinions online.
And there is another problem for established parties.
Young people do not necessarily see political parties as the natural place to organise.
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor recently warned that established parties could become irrelevant if they failed to listen to new voices. His remarks came in the aftermath of the student protests.
That may be the more important lesson from 2026.
The challenge is not simply getting young people to watch a reel.
It is getting them to believe that politicians are actually listening.
The Reel Is Not The Vote
There is a temptation to see every politician using slang or posting a selfie as evidence of a new political strategy.
Some of it may simply be good social media.
But the broader change is harder to dismiss.
Young Indians have demonstrated that they can turn an issue into a movement, turn a protest into a digital community and turn politicians themselves into meme material.
Political parties are responding.
Whether that translates into votes in 2029 is a different question.
Because Gen Z may speak the language of reels, memes and internet slang.
But speaking their language is not the same as winning their trust.
