During the election season, The Pioneer spoke with youngsters from various parts of the country, who flock to the national Capital, to study at the prestigious Delhi University. Filled with hopes and aspirations, these students express concerns that surprisingly differ from those of their elders. Education, sports facilities, and rising communal tensions were the primary issues they want their Government to address.
Moreover, unlike traditional responses, when asked about their favourite leaders, youngsters mentioned Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Minister of Road, Transport, and Highways Nitin Gadkari, and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Ankit, a 20-year-old boy from Ramjas College, said he likes Jaishankar’s personality and fearless attitude
Puja, a specially-abled 23-year-old girl from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi constituency said while developmental projects have taken place under the BJP’s rule in her hometown, she would want places to be accessible for people like her. Elaborating on the development projects, she said, “Roads have been a lot better. Kashi corridor was a really great project undertaken by Modi. The infrastructure of our primary level schools has become better and education of girls is being promoted by decreasing their fees.”
She also talked about steps she wants the Government, which coined the term divyang for people like her, to take and said, “I would like if our infrastructure is more accessible for people like me. We don’t get good facilities in educational institutions or even roads for that matter.”
Two 20-year-old boys from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur said they will vote for NOTA since they don’t like any candidate. “I will vote for the betterment of my constituency. There is crime in my place. There are governance issues. There are no facilities for sports. In fact in a few years there will be a water crisis too,” they said, adding that since they find no one working for them they will vote for NOTA.
A 21-year-old Kirti, who hails from Mathura, said she has witnessed development in the constituency of actress turned politician Hema Malini.
“It is likely she will be re-elected again in my hometown. However I would want more focus on opening new educational institutions in my area,” she said.
A Delhi voter and a law student, Arzu, 22, said she feels that when it comes to women empowerment not just the Government but society needs to work in tandem with their aspirations.
“As a woman I think while our society wants us to pursue our studies and work keeping us at par with men, the burden of home falls on us alone. We are pressured to marry early,” she shared.
Explaining what her issues are, she said, “The issues for me this election will be lack of infrastructure when it comes to our legal system and in education too. I think if we build more courts and have more vacancies, so many lawyers and advocates can get jobs.
A resident of North West Delhi’s Kirari, she said she will vote for Congress and INDIA Bloc in her constituency
Rituraj, a 22-year-old student of Faculty of Law College, vociferously questioned why developmental projects haven’t taken place in Bihar from where 39 MPs were voted to power in 2019 to BJP-led NDA Government.
He said, “I believe that even though BJP-led NDA went on to secure 39 seats in Bihar, developmental projects in the State weren’t focused upon. Even Gujarat doesn’t give so many seats to them and yet nobody works for Bihar. There are migrant workers from Bihar in Gujarat. We are facing a brain drain in our State. We need a leader from Bihar who can understand our problems and work on them at a fast pace.”
“However, we have to choose the best from the worst. First of all, even though Tejashwi Yadav has taken over, his father is still there. They still do caste politics. The JD(U) and NDA Government has done some good work. For example, my mother benefitted from the loan women self help groups get with no interest for work. Toilets installed by the Government to make India open defecation free was an important initiative. The EWS scheme has made the lives of general people like me a bit better. I come from the Bhumihar caste and even though they belong to the general caste, the census done in Bihar shows that they are among the most poor. The NDA Government was bringing the farm laws which I believe would have been helpful to the farmers of Bihar since we don’t have mandis like the one in Punjab but then they took it back,” he said while talking about who he will consider to vote for.
Shreya, a 20-year-old native of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Gorakhpur constituency, said, “Developmental projects did take place in Gorakhpur after the Yogi Government came into power. AIIMS was opened in my hometown. In regard to women safety, we were given counselling about which places we can find help from the police. They impose curfews also to maintain law and order from time to time at night.”
Further, she expressed her concerns about rising communal tensions and said, “I think privatisation affects the working force in the government sector. My parents are in Government services. I also feel that politics based on Hindu Muslim should be contained. Communalism in the country has gone up I believe.”
She said, “It has gone up everywhere, not just there. However, not a lot of people might know but the hospital in the name of Yogi’s father provides free treatment to Muslims.”
Anamika, a 23-year-old student who hails from Kerala, also expressed similar concerns and said, “I want a Government which doesn’t favour a particular group and alienates others. I believe our focus is too much on Hindutva and religion. More push should be given to development.”
“At the present moment, I see Congress and the INDIA Bloc winning in my State. I like Rahul Gandhi but I think he is good in principle albeit I am not sure if he is a good leader,” she stated.
Aryan, 18, who studies in Hindu College, said unemployment is an issue. “I hail from Uttarakhand so I don’t see much development there. Facilities in sports are not much there which demotivates the youth to participate in it,” he shared.
A 20-year-old student Arshi from Rajasthan’s Karoli said her place needs more schools and colleges. Further she complained about cleanliness issues in her hometown. “I think Congress should win this time,” she said.
