Govt and ECI launch youth outreach drive

Given the recent protests by Gen Z at the Jantar Mantar in the national Capital and in some other parts of the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making a concerted effort to reach out to them. The Election Commission (EC) has stepped up its drive to address the young, especially school children in classes 9 to 12, across India. The programme assumes significance as there are a total of 14.78 crore people in the 18-26 age group, including 7.98 crore males, 6.79 crore females and 9,000 third gender.  Moreover, the move comes ahead of some states going to polls in the coming months.

Sources said the poll authority plans to set up 50,000 Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELCs) with 10 such bodies per Assembly constituency.

For this, it will contact students of classes 9 to 12 in 15 lakh schools. Besides, it will reach out to 70,000 colleges and 1,400 universities.

This comes as the summer of student discontent gives way to autumn, spanning spaces from Jantar Mantar to obscure, muddy paths, and from the heart of the Indian capital to villages and towns fighting for a place on the education map.

As part of its revamped campaign, the poll authority will target schoolchildren from classes 9 to 12, colleges and universities across the 4,123 assembly constituencies of India.

According to ECI officials, there are a total of 14.78 crore people in the 18-26 age group, including 7.98 crore males, 6.79 crore females and 9,000 third gender.

ELCs were set up in 2018 as part of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme to introduce students to democratic values, the electoral process and the role and functioning of the ECI.

However, in view of the rapidly evolving communication ecosystem, increasing reliance on digital platforms and the need for sustained, structured and direct engagement with young electors and grassroots stakeholders, ELC 2.0 reimagines these clubs as a digitally enabled, structured and continuously engaging framework.

After the Jantar Mantar protests, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a clear task to his Union Cabinet ministers: Get more active on Instagram, make short reels, and connect directly with the youth. He wanted them to move beyond traditional, text-heavy social media platforms and speak the language of the younger generation. Exactly one month has passed since that appeal was made on July 24, and the results are finally in.

Recently, the Modi government’s overall social media performance (tracking Instagram, X, and Facebook from May 1 to August 15) was presented at a Cabinet meeting. This comes after the resignation of Dhamendra Pradhan, which shrunk the cabinet size from 30 to 29.

Notably, across India’s social and political landscape, Gen Alpha students – those born between 2010 and 2024 — have taken it upon themselves to improve their learning environments after Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar. The reports have come in from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, with students finding their voice, even in the midst of adverse circumstances, to spotlight problems that are immediate and personal.