The age of 18 is the “adulthood point” for budding citizens — the age of consent. They can earn a licence to drive, open a bank account by themselves, and get their own PAN card. In 1989, the 61st Amendment to the Constitution brought down the voting age from 21 to 18. It signalled India’s trust in the maturity of its youth and keenness to empower them in decision-making. It was as revolutionary a step as entrusting ordinary Indians with the franchise in 1950.
The ECI has initiated a series of youth-centric campaigns to address this. (HT_PRINT)
First-time voters — the 18-19 age group — currently estimated at 19 million, are those who are on the electoral rolls by just becoming eligible. Youths in the 18-29 age group number over 200 million —more than a fifth of the total electorate — and certainly can influence the contours of the 18th Lok Sabha. Importantly, this group is free of the baggage of the past and looks occupied with shaping the next century. Political parties need to reinvent themselves to catch up. But for this, the youth must exercise their choice, and make their voices heard.
Following an analysis after the 2009 general election, among electors found chronically short in participation were youth, women, and city dwellers, apart from people in difficult conditions. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has intervened since, with the proactive Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme. In the last dozen years, voter turnout has been on the ascendance. The most spectacular progress has been among women, which shot past male turnout in the 2019 general elections. More recently, election managers have focused on tribal communities in difficult terrains and on voters of older age, the sick, and those with disabilities, with encouraging results in their participation. However, apathy among the urban population and the youth has only been partly addressed, a major reason behind nearly 300 million missing voters.
The ECI has initiated a series of youth-centric campaigns to address this. The strength of colleges and higher educational institutions is being harnessed. Democracy Rooms are coming up at senior schools. Sachin Tendulkar and Rajkummar Rao are the latest icons leveraging social media to get the youth to register and vote. Gone are the days when youngsters saw voting as an activity for the elderly who had time to spare, and polling day as a potential holiday. In recent polls, youngsters have been flaunting inked fingers on social media.
An amendment of the Representation of the People Act in 2022 gave three additional dates — April 1, July 1, and October 1— to register on the electoral roll instead of only January 1 earlier. This has reduced waiting time for young voters. The ECI has also undertaken a big reform by allowing 17-year-olds to file advance applications for registration.
It is not surprising that Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi has thrown his weight behind the ECI campaign to get first-time voters to vote. Modi’s belief in the power of communication to effect change and in social and civic campaigns has been amply demonstrated in his politics for the last ten years. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM), led by him, is a standout example. SBM, technically the largest sanitation programme anywhere, turned out to be the largest behaviour-change movement in the world. To make sure that a communication-based campaign remained its soul, Modi would call it Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The mission picked up some of the nuances of SVEEP profitably. The PM’s considered appreciation for SVEEP and for the celebration of January 25 as National Voters’ Day dates back to his tenure as chief minister of Gujarat, much before other politicians or leaders could take proper note of these interventions.
Urging first-time voters to vote in record numbers in his last Mann Ki Baat programme before the Lok Sabha polls, Modi hoped that the 18th Lok Sabha would be “a symbol of youth aspiration”. He called upon influencers from all walks of life to engage in the campaign. Picking up from the EC, the government has upscaled the campaign Mera Pehla Vote: Desh Ke Liye (my first vote – for the country), which, by extension, should induce all young voters to exercise their voting rights. It will help the cause if leaders cutting across party lines join the campaign to push voting by the youth, irrespective of whoever they wish to vote — desh ke liye. The country needs more such campaigns to organise the vast energy of the youth. Like swachhata, this is everyone’s business.
Home to the largest youth aggregate in the world, and with half its population below 25 years, India deserves better from its youth. They must be torchbearers of electoral democracy through interested participation, and not disengaged bystanders. This summer will be the first big chance for new voters to experience the joy and pride of casting their first vote; the sensation of Nothing Like Voting, to use an ECI tagline. It is hoped that they will grab it.
Akshay Rout is former director general, Election Commission of India, and former director general, Swachh Bharat Mission. The views expressed are personal
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