By Anshul Tewari:
India has the youngest population in the world. Nearly 60% of the population is under the age of 35, however, the irony is that this is the most under-represented population in the Indian political system. With only 0.6% of the parliament under the age of 35, and no proper youth policy in place, the Indian youth have been treated like a vote bank.
But not anymore! 15 crore voters in India are now between 18 and 23. A larger chunk is under 35. These voters have immense power to change the course of this election. This election, among other things, will be landmark also because a high voter turnout is expected, the third front is gaining power and prominence and NOTA is emerging as a strong option for people disenchanted by all political fronts.
On that note, Youth Ki Awaaz is excited to launch #YouthElect2014, a dedicated youth hub for reporting, opinion building and analysis around the elections. The section also features an exit poll – and we need your help to make it digital media’s biggest ever youth poll on the elections.
The hub also has information on how to register as a voter (which you should do right away if you haven’t already), know more about your rights as an active citizen and a voter, and also seek information about your local candidates. The hub also tries to focus on informing our readers and participants more about their local governance issues.
While we lead up to the elections, remember to include #YouthElect2014 in your tweets about the elections to get featured in the YKA YouthElect hub; and send in your opinions and analysis to us to get published, at info@youthkiawaaz.com.
Let’s make this election a revolutionary one!