Indian parties scramble to woo tuned-out young voters

NEW DELHI — Indian political parties are scrambling to woo youths in the ongoing general election, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seeking a third five-year term. Party workers are leveraging the power of social media, music videos and grassroots organizations as well as Bollywood stars to lure the country’s sizable youth demographic into polling booths.

The various programs that parties are conducting to woo the young include raising awareness on the electoral process as well as setting up registration kiosks to cater to first-time voters. Party volunteers have been visiting college campuses to sensitize students to the power of their vote.

“There’s a need to educate the country’s youngsters about various development programs launched by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government to help them choose their leaders more prudently,” said Sunil Khetri, the party’s chief volunteer at Delhi University colleges. “During our interactions, it became apparent that they weren’t aware of many progressive initiatives our party had launched in the last few years.”

The BJP’s youth wing is holding various programs on college campuses addressing first-time voters under the centrally launched initiative Mera Pehla Vote Desh Ke Liye (My First Vote for the Country). Under another initiative, NaMo Warriors (with NaMo short for Narendra Modi), 50 young voters from each college have been trained to create awareness on developments brought in by the BJP government in various sectors.

Modi, 73, has himself been fervently reaching out to youths through his election speeches, selfies and music videos. One Hindi song, composed by his party workers, highlights a key theme of his campaign: that he fulfills promises. It is dubbed, like the party’s manifesto, “Modi ki Guarantee” (“Modi’s Guarantee”).

The Association for Democratic Reforms, a nonprofit organization working for electoral and political reforms, has also introduced a youth outreach program to encourage young voters to register. The soft power of Bollywood is also being leveraged to nudge young voters to polling booths. The actor Ayushmann Khurrana has been tasked by the Election Commission of India to urge the young to actively engage in the democratic process by casting their vote.

The world’s most populous country, with 1.4 billion inhabitants, has 18 million first-time voters and another 197 million between the ages of 20 and 29 this year.

The principal political parties — the ruling BJP and the opposition Indian National Congress — have announced a slew of promises to earn the youth vote. The BJP’s manifesto, named “Sankalp Patra” (“Letter of Resolve”), released on April 14, is strategically targeting young voters as well as first-time voters with pledges of a “digital revolution.” Under this, the party is making ambitious claims to establish India as a world leader in emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing.

Meanwhile, in Congress’ manifesto, called “Nyaya Patra” (“Document of Justice”), party leader Rahul Gandhi has promised increased welfare payments for women, 3 million new government jobs and more apprenticeships for college leavers if it comes to power.

Not many youths are taken in by such promises, though. Prateek Adhikary, 18, a student at Delhi University and a first-time voter, says politicians often fail to live up to their promises. “When the BJP came to power in 2014, grand promises were made about providing employment to the eligible. But I’ve two graduate brothers who are sitting idle at home, jobless,” he said. “The responsibility of providing for our family of five rests on my father, who is self-employed and runs a grocery store.”

According to Delhi-based political analyst Sanjay Mishra, a general lack of interest in voting among Indian youths stems from the collective perception that politicians make no difference to their daily lives: “The youth see voting as a waste of time and country’s resources. So they prefer enjoying voting day as a holiday instead.” However, he pointed out that this trend is not unique to India. “In the U.S., nearly 48% of youths have reported feeling disinclined to vote. Disillusionment toward democracy is also being witnessed across some other Asian and European countries too.”

A recent report by the Election Commission of India highlighted that only about 38% of eligible first-time voters — 18 million out of the 49 million their age — have registered to vote in the 2024 national elections. In Bihar, which hosts the country’s largest number of young people, only 17% have registered to vote. In Delhi, the seat of political power, the figure is 21%, while in Uttar Pradesh it is 23%.

Much of this pessimism stems from the inefficacy of opposition parties to present a progressive blueprint for change, as well as the Modi government’s failure to address key issues like soaring unemployment. A staggering 83% of the jobless population belongs to the youth demographic, according to India Employment Report 2024, published by the International Labor Organization.

Now, why does the young electorate matter so much?

Political pundits say that historically, this demographic has played a catalytic role in determining who comes to power in Delhi. In 2014, India’s young first-time voters helped the BJP win an unprecedented majority. Exit polls found that turnout in that election among Indians ages 18 to 25 was over 70%, surpassing that of the general population for the first time.

However, despite youths’ apparent current lack of interest in voting and politics in general, experts say the reality is a bit different. “Indian youth are generally perceived to be disengaged, apathetic and politically unaware,” said Kamei Aphun, an associate professor of sociology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. “However, as an educator, my interactions with students has led me to believe that they are passionate about social action and are more willing than previous generations to take action on important issues like corruption and climate change.”

The academic believes that the current generation is best placed to usher in change, as they have been through the throes of the pandemic, are witness to the mayhem of climate change and are more educated and empowered. “India has one of the youngest populations in the world, so young voters can be the game changers in 2024. It’ll be a wasted opportunity if they don’t exercise their franchise to elect the right people to power,” he added.

source : asia.nikkei