Gunjan Kumar Das of Dibrugarh University and Shidartha Sonkar Hazarika of Gauhati University, about 440km apart, are thinking along similar lines.

So are two other Gen Z voters — Anudhriti Hazarika and Subhasis Borah of Jagannath Barooah University in Jorhat. They are all inclined to vote for a “suitable” candidate after checking their profile and public activities instead of voting for parties.

Conversations with college and university students over the past week suggested that most Gen Z voters, aged 18 to 29, would pick candidate over party in the April 9 Assembly elections in Assam. If they indeed go ahead and do so, it could impact the outcome, upsetting the political parties’ calculations.

Political activists and poll observers admit that Assam’s Gen Z voters are “thinking differently” and might play a role in deciding the winner. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Assam Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi have acknowledged the importance of these young voters.

According to official figures, Assam has 2,50,54,463 voters of whom 73,107,64 (29 per cent) are aged 18 to 29.

Reports from the ground also indicate a churning among the 61,85,831 voters (24.7 per cent) aged 30 to 39, a number that can be disregarded only at one’s peril.

Gunjan said Gen Z voters would decide on the basis of a candidate’s education, integrity, involvement in public life and speed of response to pressing and genuine concerns. They will also see whether the candidate maintains a channel of direct communication with the public.

“For Gen Z voters, authenticity matters more than party. They care more about candidates and tangible development,” Gunjan said.

“They will not support parties blindly. They have low tolerance for corruption; they want transparency in governance and leaders who stick to their word.”

Gunjan said the upcoming polls might turn into a “battle between Gen Z and the older generation, who may still vote for a party”.

Shidartha, Anudhriti and Subhasis echoed him.

“Gen Z will also check what a re-nominated MLA did in the past five years, not what the state government did,” Subhasis said.

Although they would not hazard a guess about the possible outcome, these students were agreed about the need to have a strong Opposition in the 126-member Assembly.

They were also unanimous about infrastructure development having taken place under the Himanta Biswa Sarma government, and government recruitments being based on merit and transparency.

However, they said, Gen Z voters were worried about the eventual cost of the welfare schemes for women and students, the peddling of communal rhetoric, the handling of the Zubeen Garg death case, the non-implementation of the 1985 Assam Accord, the National Register of Citizens stalemate, the annual floods, the lack of adequate job opportunities and people’s continuing preference for private hospitals and schools despite a visible upgrade in their government counterparts.

These are some of the reasons why Gen Z believes that electing the right candidates is key to having a government that is alive to people’s “real” concerns and ensuring a balanced development, the conversation revealed.

All these students said they were not against beneficiary schemes but wanted these designed in such a manner that they did “not make the people lazy and almost dependent on these schemes”.

“The cost of the beneficiary schemes will increase the state’s loan burden, which will affect our future. There is also concern among Gen Z over Congress leaders defecting to the BJP,” Shidartha said.

“Why did we vote the Congress out? Because of alleged corruption, among other reasons. Now, we fear that if the BJP retains power, we will have a repeat of the old Congress government under the BJP.”

A BJP-led government has been in power in the state since 2016.

Nanda Kirati Dewan, national general secretary, Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh, said that ground reports and social media chatter indicate a high possibility of Gen Z voters impacting the outcome of this Assam election.

“Unlike traditional voting patterns driven by polarisation around issues like religion, beef or communal narratives, this generation is more conscious, informed and future-oriented,” Dewan said.

“Gen Z voters are unlikely to be swayed by divisive politics. Instead, they are looking for leadership that offers a clear vision, practical solutions, and a focused mission.

“For them, performance, accountability and purpose matter more than party lines…. Candidates who understand this change and connect with the aspirations of young voters will have a decisive edge.”

Political analyst R. Pandey, though, does not foresee any upheavals because “there are also beneficiaries” among Gen Z and because a party’s organisational strength matters in an election.

A BJP leader in Jorhat acknowledged that Gen Z voters posed a challenge.

“There are Gen Z voters who are our members but we are concerned about those who are not our members. There is no denying they will pose a problem for us,” he told The Telegraph.

A group of Gen Z voters attributed such thinking to Congress candidate Gaurav Gogoi’s win from the Jorhat Lok Sabha constituency in 2024, with the younger voters playing a significant role in the outcome. Gogoi is contesting from the Jorhat Assembly seat this time.

“The entire state cabinet had descended upon Jorhat but Gogoi still won because people voted for the candidate, for his excellent performances in Parliament, not for the Congress,” a Gen Z voter said.

“People did not want to lose him. Gen Z voters realised they could usher in change if they voted wisely.”