The Young Voters of India
In the upcoming general elections history will be made. As for the first time ever the voters between the ages of 18 and 19 will use their right to vote in a record breaking number. The population experts even claim that such a spectacle of large number of young voters voting for the first time may not happen in the near future again. Because of the decreasing birth rates the possibilities are very bleak that such a large number of people will enter the age of 18-19 together ever again.
According to the records of the Election Commission of India, in the upcoming general elections 81.5 crore people will be able to cast their votes. And among these voters the number of voters between the ages of 18 and 19 is about 2 crore and 30 lakh. In fact there are ten percent such voters who have become eligible to use their right to vote after the general elections of 2009.
Does the voting behavior and trend of the young voters differ from other voters? The views of political experts are conflicted on this issue. Some experts say that such young voters are also influenced by the agendas of caste, religion, region and other prejudices. But others think that they are more concerned about the availability of jobs, education and health care. In short they want progress and are not influenced by other emotional issues.
As the influence of electronic media is growing, the priorities of the voters are also changing. So among such growing trends it becomes paramount to reconsider the old political thinking and agendas.
It’s an undisputed fact that the dreams and ambitions of the youngsters are completely different from other older people. The youngsters are more enlightened and aware about their rights and hence their expectations from the political parties become higher. The young voters don’t have any blind faith for any particular political leader or party. They only support a leader or a party who actually does something, instead of just giving speeches and making false promises, without telling about an action plan to back it up.
Although the political parties are acknowledging the changing mindset of the voters, but it is hard to tell whether they succeeded in achieving the trust and support of the young voters. It’s a good thing that political parties are now giving priorities to the agendas of public welfare and national progress, instead of the old emotional and instigating issues of the past.
But there is still a long way to go for the political parties to create a peaceful and positive environment in India and to give the confidence and hope about a bright and prosperous future to the Youngistan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_India
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