‘Hope leaders as excited about Delhi as we are about voting’: First-time voters

Many spoke about the need for improvement in Delhi’s infrastructure, better schools, and more employment opportunities.

As Delhi went to vote, the city’s young and restless – armed with information they gathered from YouTube videos, the three manifestos, and guidance from parents – showed up to vote, many for the first time ever. The number of first-time voters, between the ages of 18 and 19 years, published in the final electoral roll draft as of Jan 6, 2025, is 2,08,302. The same number was 1,47,074 during the Lok Sabha elections held in May 2024.

First-time voter Srishti Singh in Dwarka on Wednesday. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

After casting their first vote, many spoke about the need for improvement in Delhi’s infrastructure, better schools, and more employment opportunities as they step into the future.

Outside a polling booth in Lajpat Nagar, Nitya Bhatia, a 22-year-old student of Indraprastha University, said she went through the manifestos of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress, and followed their campaigns for weeks in a bid to decide who she will vote for. “I was very excited about voting, it’s my first. I based my decision on the schemes that parties promised for students – from free bus and metro rides to what they will do in the field of education. I was nervous when I first stepped in, but I had watched enough videos on YouTube on the voting process, so I was fine,” she said.

For 18-year-old Nazmeen, an 18-year-old resident of Kardampuri in northeast Delhi, too, improvement in educational institutions was a prime reason to step out and cast her vote for the first time. “Education is integral to us, for our growth... I want the next government to improve the education sector even more.”

Clean Delhi, meanwhile, was on top of Soumya Kumari’s priority list. The 18-year-old first-time voter from Rithala, said, “There’s so much garbage outside schools, and on the streets. I hope the person who wins from my constituency will work on this issue. Another big issue for me is women safety.”

For 18-year-old Siya Valhara, a first-time voter from Neb Sarai, finding a job after she finishes her B.Tech degree is most important. “I am concerned about the increasing unemployment. I have seen my elder cousins struggle... I am scared to grow up with a sense of insecurity about the future,” she said.

Merin Vincent, a 22-year-old resident of Govindpuri and first-time voter, echoed Valhara’s concerns. “I hope the next elected government works towards unemployment. I’m pursuing my master’s degree, and I hope to get a job soon.”

Valhara said that apart from employment, she is concerned about water shortage in her area. “Summer is almost here, and the water supply will again become irregular and unreliable. The next government should take this seriously,” she said.

For 18-year-old Pranav Anand, 18 in Chhatarpur, the civic mess in the city is a cause of deep frustration that has also helped him decide his vote. “All roads in our area are dug up. The sewage lines are a mess. How can one live like this? I want the new government to focus on infrastructural development of Delhi,” he said.

Outside a booth in Badli, 24-year-old Soni Kumar – decked up in a new sari, make up and jewellery, was thrilled to have voted for the first time in Delhi. From Darbhanga in Bihar, Kumar moved to Delhi four years ago after she got married and shifted her vote to the Capital too. She said, “I wanted to look beautiful so wearing because this is my first vote here... I woke up early, took a bath, went to a Hanuman temple nearby and then came here to vote. I am glad that electricity is free in Delhi, but the water bills are very high and the sewers are overflowing,” said Kumar.

20-year-old Madiha, who is pursuing graduation from open school, walked out of a polling booth in Jafrabad joyous and hopeful after she cast her first ever vote. “I saw the EVMs for the first time. I hope the new leaders are as excited for the city as I was to vote,” she said.