Freshman franchise: How votes fall for first-timers

LUCKNOW: If the highlights of the present Parliamentary elections are the new young faces on the canvases of various political parties — then the highlight of the electorate must surely be the spanking new first-time voters. This Lok Sabha elections there will be as many as 65,510 new voters in the Lucknow Parliamentary constituency, and just for the record, the first-time voters form about one-fourth of the total voting population in Lucknow constituency.
Statistics apart, what the young, trendy and politically educated first-time voters of Lucknow think about their political leaders, is a matter of grave contemplation — not only for political parties, but also for those familiar with the nitty-gritties of voting for years now.
For the youngsters, the most interesting part of the elections is the emergence of first-time contestants. "The young political leaders are in the electoral fray just for mere entertainment. I don''t think they are serious about it at all," says Geetika Bhatnagar a student of BSc part-I. Twenty-year-old Huma Naseem holds a different view: "Unlike the older politicians, I think the younger lot will have brighter and younger concepts, and that is what India needs today." Meanwhile, some are more skeptical about the crop of young faces in India''s politics. "I think the young political leaders will have to work under the influence of their seniors... they will do what their predecessors tell them to do," says Arunima Kumar.
But despite all the apprehensions and doubts about the calibre of India''s political leaders, most youngsters will exercise their franchise and are excited about it. There are also some, who rue the fact that their names are not on the voters'' list, despite them being of the voting age. "I am so disappointed that my name is not there on the list. I was looking forward to exercising my franchise for the very first time," rues Azli Mirza, a second year undergrad student.
As for the BJP''s ''Feel Good'' catch-phrase clubbed with the ''India Shining'' campaign, the slogans do not appear to be striking the right chord with this elections'' debutante voters. "Students are not feeling good in the least," complains Namrata Shah. While Surabhi Singh, a college student, takes the argument a bit further. "Something should have been done for the students too. What about those who graduate from college and are looking for jobs or aiming to pursue higher studies? India may be shining, but the future of these students doesn''t seem very bright," points out Singh. There are others like Gunja Tolani who still feel that "Indians have been feeling good for the past two years and the BJP has done quite a bit for education in the country."
Young Lucknowites would rather vote for a party that has more substance to than mere slogans and catchy phrases. "I want a party that will end corruption and eve-teasing, but no one seems concerned about it," says Naseem. For 19-year-old Parul Trivedi, a political party that can make "India a better place", is the best bet. While Namrata Shah expects a lot from the Congress'' new hope Rahul Gandhi, "I am sure he can do a lot for the country. In fact the whole youth brigade in politics is good news for India," beams Shah.
But all said and done, there are also the die-hard skeptics who will skip their first chance to vote for the simple reason that they feel "No political party deserves to win." Jyoti Tripathi, a 20-year-old, has an idea to help clean up the "political mess". "I wish no one goes to vote and there is President''s rule imposed in the country. That will set all the political leaders straight," Tripathi comments.