Mushtaq Ul Haq Ahmad Sikander
The Parliamentary elections in India are round the corner. The election campaigns in different parts of India are going in full swing too. The tussle like the previous elections is between the Congress and Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) that are the two stalwart political parties in India having their presence in all regions. Participation in elections has always been a festive affair for Indians particularly the downtrodden and poor. They cast their votes dutifully in the hope of bringing change to their daily affairs.
Majority of the population in India comprises of Youth, who can be classified using various yardsticks of region, class, economic status and literacy levels. When it comes to elections, Indian youth certainly can become harbingers of a decisive and diverse change in the Indian polity. But there are various factors that hinder and restrain them to be the catalysts of change. The political space in India has been monopolized by Congress and BJP, though a few regional parties have made their presence felt too, but there aren’t many options for the youth to choose from. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that made its debut in Delhi is a hope for youth but it couldn’t gain more than thirty percent votes in elections, hence couldn’t form a strong government without external support. The youth not only as electorate but as candidates too find it very difficult to survive in the monopolized, competitive and corporate political culture of India; hence every election retrogrades to a change of hands only.
Then there are youth who are illiterate. They get easily swayed over by the political demagogues and dreams that politicians sell during their election campaigns. They have a huge impact on election results. Without being able to analyze the pros and cons of different political parties and candidates on basis of merit, track record, election manifesto and party structure they elect wrong candidates to seats of power. The case with literate youth is no different, because literacy isn’t synonymous with being politically aware. Among the literate youth, few are politically aware to vote for those candidates who can bring the change that most people crave for.
To add insult to injury political culture of India is rooted in corruption, nepotism, and money and muscle power. Most of the educated youth are disillusioned with the same. They don’t want to be a part of such system in which it is impossible to survive with honesty, selflessness and dedication. Politics is still witnessed as a dirty game, where the participants want to earn quick bucks, suppress the poor, enjoy privileges and impunity from law. Thus participation in politics is still not a lucrative goal or aim about which youth crave.
Then there are conflict ridden regions in India whether be it North East, Kashmir or Maoist hit areas. The elections in these places are witnessed as a State run exercise in which despite participation of local masses the results will always be manipulated and orchestrated in favor of those who are at the helm of affairs in Delhi. The bitter past experience has made the masses particularly the youth skeptical about their participation in elections.
The youth want to see a change in Indian polity; they are craving for it and will be participating in coming elections to realize the same. But fewer options of choice, lack of trust in political institutions, pessimism about the resulting change and past failures about bring change certainly impact the participation and voting behavior of youth.
M.H.A Sikander is Writer-Activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir and can be reached at sikandarmushtaq@gmail.com