2024-04-23 15:34:11
Lok Sabha elections have started in the country. The first phase of the seven-phase elections is over. Amidst all this, only 38 percent of the youth in the country who have completed 18 years of age have registered for voting. This shows that the youth of the country are not showing interest in voting.
highlights
- Less than 25 percent voter registration in Bihar, UP and Delhi
- Youth had participated in large numbers in 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
- Only 13% of youth voted in France’s 2021 municipal elections.
Dipankar Gupta: Only 38% of the youth who have completed 18 years of age in the country have registered themselves as voters for the 2024 elections. Experts are worried about this trend. In such a situation, the question arises whether the youth have lost interest in democracy? Is the future bleak in their hands? Actually, none of the above. The youth of the country is not a commodity which has been lost. It is their youth that makes them wary of dull routines. If there is any strong, big protest or change factor associated with any election, then the situation changes in an instant. When this happens, voting becomes a carnival. In such a situation, voting by voters under 25 years of age can put older adults to shame. Otherwise, elections are for old people.
Only elders discuss manifestos
Here, elderly people consider the manifestos of various parties. They discuss it a lot or rather chew it a lot, they ruminate over it again and again. Let them go to the polling booth in the same boring way in which they have lived their lives. When a competitor has to be defeated, voting without the drumbeat of the campaign is a dull affair! The 2024 elections have failed to excite young voters because they believe they already know the outcome. Therefore, like before, their numbers will lag behind in the voting figures. In Bihar, Delhi and UP, less than 25% of youth who recently turned 18 have registered themselves as voters. This number is lowest in Bihar with 17%, but the situation in politically active Maharashtra is also not much better with 22% voter registration.
The situation is different from 2014
If we compare this scenario with that of 2014, a different situation is seen. At that time young voters had stormed the booths to give complete majority to BJP. The total votes polled by the 18-25 age group were 2% more than the national average. In terms of votes polled by BJP, it was 3% more than the general voters. Unlike in the past, that time young voters were not lagging behind. In 2014, people born after the big economic reforms of 1991 were ready to get their first chance at the polls. Weren’t they lucky? Till then, beyond the limits of age, he saw only dull, pot-bellied old fighters, completely exhausted. The results of these duels were insignificant and the winner always won with a fractured mandate.
Youth support increased for BJP
Now, finally in 2014, the youth felt they had a clear mission to accomplish. On the one hand there was a charismatic, articulate, outsider against an ancient ableist, now past his prime, but supported by the establishment. Sensing an exciting fight, Young stepped in to give the challenger a clear victory. The change in mood was evident six months before the election. This sentiment continued in 2019 as Modi’s victory required unification, lest it slip back into the hands of the same dysfunctional people who had ruled before. This shows that between 2014 and 2019, BJP’s support among young voters increased from 61% to 68%. This was not only an increase of 7%, but also contributed to a 4% increase in the BJP’s mobilization share across the country that year.
The record was broken in 2014
When the Election Commission and others wonder how to motivate youth to vote, they overlook the important fact that they are now addressing a crowd that thinks differently. The hormones produced in children aged 18 to 25 look for a cause, not a process. If the 2024 elections have failed to propel them forward, it is because the youth do not see any competition at all. However, there are no accurate data on age-related voting in previous Indian elections. Yet one can safely suggest that the increase in voting numbers is due to the youth. For example, in 1984, after the assassination of Indira Gandhi and there was fear of Sikh militancy, a campaign to attract new voters was felt. After this the voting percentage increased to 64%. This record was left behind in 2014 itself.
OPINION: Youth cannot be fooled by empty words… Netaji, see this trend of voter registration, the picture will become clear.
Slow trend visible in the world
Young Indians are not unique in this matter. Globally it has been observed that most of the voters are middle aged. In this regard, the very old and the very young are probably singing the same song, because as one moves from middle age to old age, enthusiasm for voting diminishes. Even in America, persistent youth apathy is troubling only when there is an election in which there is a cause and an enemy to be defeated. Clinton and Obama won with the overwhelming support of youth and Biden also won against Trump. The states that recorded the highest numbers of youth voters in 2020 were New Jersey, Minnesota, Colorado and Maine. Biden Biden had won all of them.
Why are everyone from the Election Commission to the NGOs trying to woo the youth for voting registration?
Youth is not politically cut off
Youngsters may not ring alarm clocks like their elders. They may not wake up on election day in sleepless excitement, but they are not politically cut off. They enter the field only when there is thunder and fury and ideological biases come out in the open. That’s why they are the life and soul of public demonstrations everywhere. However, they are slow to vote. In India, youth also led the Nirbhaya movement and Anna Hazare’s campaign. In France, while only 13% of youth voted in the 2021 municipal elections. Yet in 2019, during the ‘Yellow Vest’ strike, they rallied one million people on the streets of Paris. Similarly, it was the youth who led the ‘Occupy Wall Street movement’ in the US in 2011. Give 18-year-olds a good fight and they will come out swinging on election day. Young guys hate getting punched below their weight.
About Anil Kumar
Anil KumarAnil has been active in the media industry for more than a decade. The journey that started with reporting from Dainik Jagran Chandigarh in 2009, has reached NavbharatTimes.com via Dainik Bhaskar, Rajasthan Patrika, Amar Ujala, Jansatta.com. He is originally from Bihar but completed his education from Delhi. Along with sports and education reporting, he also has experience of working at the central desk. Has special interest in politics, sports as well as foreign news… Read More
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