‘They should not make false promises’ say First Time Voters
By Sahana S
Bengaluru, 10 April, 2019
Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, first-time voters expect political leaders to focus on real issues affecting the city instead of making false promises during their election campaigns.
According to Election Commission of India data, more than 7 lakh first-time voters are going to exercise their franchise in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“Focusing on the implementation of rules on the safety of women is important. They should try to provide more protection to women on occasions like New Year’s eve when massive crowds gather everywhere,” said Megha Gowda, an engineering student and first-time voter.
Young adults who are eligible to vote want politicians to concentrate on issues like garbage, infrastructure and water conservation.
Arpitha M, a visual media student, said: “Politics is one of the favourite topics discussed in our house. While my family members are influenced by a major party, I would verify the leaders’ background rather than getting influenced by my parents and blindly cast my vote for that party.”
Despite enrolment drives by the Election Commission, most first-time voters are unaware about the scheduled date to register their name for the voter ID card.
Kavitha K, a student, said: “I wasn’t aware of the deadline for the enrollment of the voters. Election authorities should have done more campaigns regarding enrolment.” She was informed by one of her friends she should register for a voter ID card.
Raksith Kumar, a commerce student from St Joseph’s College, said: “There are a lot of issues that need the attention of political representatives, such as white topping of roads. It is tough to balance bikes on white-topped roads, resulting in accidents.”
Political leaders should keep their promises to voters, Rakshith added.
Goutamachar, a civil engineering student from KSIT, said: “Garbage is posing a huge problem in JP Nagar. None of the political representatives is taking care to solve the garbage issue in our area. I will vote for a party that refrains from making false promises.”
Another student from the same college, Bharath Rao, said: “Many of my friends are afraid to speak about sensitive issues on social platforms after a few of our fellow Kashmiri students were taken for questioning by police.”
Regarding the increase in nationalism and jingoism, he added: “My Kashmiri friend said that it compelled him to rethink about voting in the Lok Sabha elections.”
Dr Harish Ramaswamy, a political scientist and professor at Mysore University, said: “For several political parties, their major concern will be first-time voters as they change the entire political dynamics. The major advantage of first-time voters is that they easily don’t get influenced by political organizations. They would rather concentrate on the work of political leaders.”
