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With just a few days to go before Bengaluru and many parts of the state go to polls, The Quint caught up with some millennials in the IT capital to find out what motivates them when they cast their vote.
With India all set to be one of the youngest countries in the world in a few years, listening to the the voice of the youth and tapping into vote of the millennial is on every party’s wishlist.
What is it that guides their voting behaviour? Is it a good idea when actors like Prakash Raj and Nikhil Gowda enter the political fray? What do they make of BJP’s Tejasvi Surya who is grabbing national headlines for his past comments? Read on to find out what is in the mind of Bengaluru’s young voter.
On Tejasvi Surya
College student Aishwarya believes that while it is good that youngsters are being given a chance to enter politics, the news about Surya’s past comments have put her in a dilemma.
“I personally feel younger candidates are a boon to our society and for the elections but the mixed thoughts you told about Tejasvi, I have the same kind of thoughts. After looking into the accusations, I also am thinking whether or not to vote for him.”Aishwarya, College Student
Sachin, a young working professional believes that some of the ‘extremist’ stances that Surya is said to have taken in the past should be avoided by someone who is going to assume public office.
“People like Tejasvi coming out, making certain statements which are very drastic, like ‘you are either a supporter of Modi or you are an anti-national’ are some things that should be avoided at any cost. And these are not the statements we expect to represent us in the democratic system should be making. If any person has these views, then its best they keep it to themselves.”Sachin
On Film Stars Entering Politics
Student Raj Singh said that he had no problem with actors and those from the film fraternity entering politics, as long as they were willing to take up and work for issues in society.
“Actors and filmmakers coming into politics, I do not see that people coming into politics from any section is a problem, I see Prakash Raj and Nikhil Gowda, there are many people like those coming into politics, I really see as people who are really concerned about society, their responsibility. We need politicians like Prakash Raj irrespective of which section of society they are coming from, which industry they belong to, and I don’t see any problem in this.”Raj Singh
Lawyer Arjun Ajay said that he was more concerned with the educational qualifications of the candidate.
“When it comes to their background, at least when it comes to their film industry background, I don’t think that makes a specific difference to me but what does matter is their educational qualifications and where they;re coming from.”Arjun Ajay
On the Job Crisis
Raj Singh questioned the government’s data on job creation after making poll promises of resolving the unemployment issue in the country.
“Not only for Bengalureans, being a government in power, you have a responsibility to create jobs. Before coming to power, you promised the youth of this country that every year you will provide 2 crore jobs, but after 5 years you don’t have data on unemployment. So when you are creating jobs, where is the data?”Raj Singh
Their Vision for the City?
From bringing greenery back to the garden city to resolving the traffic crisis, there were many things on the millennial wishlist.
One of Arjun Ajay's primary objections was, “Indiscriminate cutting down of trees. The biggest problem is that they (civic authorities) have been scamming the public.”
While Sachin wanted the metro construction to be speeded up, Raj’s main concern was the city’s terrible traffic problem.
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