College Mein Charcha: Bengaluru’s First-Time Voters and Their Woes

What are the big poll issues for the youth of Karnataka? College students in Bengaluru speak.

What better place than a college campus for an election adda with first-time voters?

(Photo: Ankita Das/The Quint)

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

As Karnataka braces for the upcoming Assembly elections, what are the biggest poll issues for the youth of Bengaluru? We spoke to students on campus and asked them – what will make or break your votes?

Priorities Sorted: Understanding the Youngest Voters

As we settled next to the basketball court in a college campus in the heart of the city, the students discussed what their priorities are this election.

Twenty-year-old Yashas, who is set to vote for the first time, quipped:

Recently, the colours of the Karnataka flag have been altered. I think the Congress government is trying to project itself before the upcoming elections as a party with a strong pro-Kannada stand. Yes, we do require Kannada to be prominent, but more than any of this, we want development.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah unveiling the new yellow, white and red Karnataka flag.

His batchmate, Veeresh, has a grouse against BJP’s chief minister face BS Yeddyurappa.

Yeddyurappa supports Lingayats more and he doesn’t want other people to come up because he is a Lingayat. He wants to increase reservation for his own, so he’s more focused on that.

Veeresh, second year student

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP Karnataka chief BS Yeddyurappa during a BJP election rally.

Punith from Bengaluru said, “Why is it that the government implements so many programmes only when elections are around? For example, Indira Canteens started less than a year ago in August 2017. The idea was simple, inspired from the Amma Canteens in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Why couldn’t the Karnataka government implement this long ago? Is it necessary to provide solutions only around election time?”

An Indira Canteen in Bengaluru.

Trolls, Bots and Politics on Social Media

Does social media affect the way you vote?

Much has been talked about Cambridge Analytica, the data breach at Facebook, and how elections were allegedly impacted by using personal information of users.

How do political the opinions of these college students get influenced by social media and can WhatsApp forwards and Facebook comments change the way they vote?

“Not really,” said Sharath, a first-time voter in Bengaluru, “these days on social media, there are more paid promotions, which aren't actually organic or real, which is why I don’t trust them.”

Plus, whatever we say on social media gets polarised into pro-Modi or anti-Modi. Whatever you say, people are always barking at you. There’s no freedom to express your opinion nowadays.

Sharath, first-time voter

So, he gets trolled if he’s saying something?

“Of course, yes,” asserted Sharath.

Has that made the student go quiet on social media?

Sharath replied, “Not exactly quiet, but we play safe. We don’t get involved in such conversations.”

“If we make a point, they'll just spam and troll us. So, there’s no point in saying much on social media,” said Yashas.

Your Message to Voters?

So what’s the ONE thing these college students want to tell the rest of the state before the election on 12 May?

Think maadi. Vote maadi. #ThinkBeforeYouVote!

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