3 min readJaipurUpdated: Aug 13, 2026 04:46 AM IST
Hoping to tap Gen Z, Rajasthan’s Bhajan Lal Sharma government has launched a novel initiative of sending individual birthday greetings to youngsters on their 18th birthday.
Launched in July, about 80,000 such birthday greetings – all in hard copies — have already been sent across Rajasthan so far, an official confirmed to The Indian Express, adding: “The idea is also to push them to enrol themselves as voters”.
The letter in Hindi reads, “My heartiest congratulations to you on completing 18 springs of life. Your youth, brimming with new energy, marks a new chapter of social responsibility, rights, and opportunities. In the glorious journey of success in the world’s largest democracy, you are now eligible to exercise your right to vote. I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on this new achievement.”
“Our illustrious Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, says that ‘strong youth is the foundation of a prosperous nation’. Inspired by the spirit of nation-first, your thoughts, your determination, your dreams, and your efforts will surely strengthen the campaign for a developed India and a developed Rajasthan,” it says.
“I urge you to register your names on the voter list soon. Indian democracy will only be strengthened through your active and positive participation. I sincerely wish to meet and communicate with you in person. Whenever I have the opportunity in the future, I will certainly meet with you,” reads the letter.
Apart from the state emblem, the letter, signed by CM Sharma, has a photo of the CM and the PM at the bottom.
Officials said that the letters are being sent through a separate cell within the CM office and that the data has mainly been gathered through information available at the departmental level.
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The move follows Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar. Political analyst Tribhuvan said that while this was a “goodwill gesture, the ruling party will also need to address the basic concerns of Gen Z”.
“The New Delhi protest was a cause of worry for the BJP, as it was undoing the gains made by the party. There have been 4-5 major protests (since 2014), but they didn’t really pay heed; in the protest against farm laws too, they listened after a long-drawn protest lasting over a year,” he said.
He said that Gen Z makes up a significant portion of the population. As per 2011 Census projections, Gen Z accounts for 36.74 crore, or 25.8%, of the country’s 142.6 crore population in 2026. “Compared to the Congress, the BJP is far ahead in terms of its strategy. They are always planning something, irrespective of the returns. The present Education Minister, Madan Dilawar, too, had launched a similar campaign in 2003, the year he won the Atru Assembly seat,” Tribhuvan said. “For instance, in the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress and the BJP had a difference of just 0.53 per cent in the share of valid votes polled in the state. In such a scenario, the BJP hopes that initiatives such as these letters will push it past the finish line in Assembly seats in 2028.”