India, the world’s largest democracy celebrates the 9th National Voters’ Day 25th of January i.e. today at more than 6 lakh locations covering 10 lakh polling station across the country. In view of the upcoming Lok Sabha Election, the young voters will be the deciding factor. As per the 2011 Census data, almost 2 crore youngsters turn 18 every year and thus get the voting rights. As the 2019 elections come around, there will be approximately 10 crore first-time voters seeking to exercise their voting rights. According to ECI data, about 2.6 crore young people in the age bracket of 18 to 20 years have already been registered in the electoral rolls. The number is 1.38 crore for the 18-19 age bracket, according to ECI data, as of February 10.
This number of first-time voters is huge and no political party can afford to brush it aside. It is not just their number that is significant while the behaviour of the first-time voters must also be taken into consideration. Their minds are without any burden of predefined notions. Also, they are better informed and more technology friendly which gives them an edge over the traditional voters who have been manipulated at times. First-time voters do not have allegiance to any party, instead, they prefer a leader who is true to the democratic value. They are well aware of the fact that a country needs development to overcome different issues of society. These newly registered voters are rising above the barrier of caste and religion. Hence when it comes to leadership, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a clear edge over all his contemporaries. In his tenure, India has been paddled on the path of growth and youngsters find him the most appropriate person to lead the nation. Some of the steps which incumbent government took for the development of the nation are as follows-
Infrastructure-
Roads and highways were never built at a rate which the present government has achieved. Previous administration left at 11 km a day of highway construction while under Modi government it reached to 27 km a day in March 2018. The target is to achieve 45 km a day by March 2019. Recent data released by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) indicates that the Narendra Modi government has built 73% more highways in its first four years in office as compared to the last four years of the former UPA government. This achievement is momentous as far as PM Modi and his government is concerned.
The Indian Railways has 68 divisions and the upgradation of Indian railways is a huge task. It was ignored by the previous regimes but the Modi government took note of it and gave nod for the soft upgradation of stations. It is being done on a massive scale and the target is set to be achieved well within time. The switch from Diesel Loco to Electric Loco is also being done under the Make in India programme. With Bullet train in the pipeline, train 18 has already become one of the biggest achievements of the railways. Rolling Stocks are also being made in India instead of getting it outsourced. Railways have increased its CapEx by three times. Also, the 100-year-old signalling system has been replaced. All these steps on the part of Modi government are suggestive of the fact that the newly registered voters are likely to support PM Modi in the upcoming elections.
The state of the economy
One notable achievement of the Indian economy over the past few years has been the remarkable rise in foreign flows, and in particular, in foreign direct investment (FDI). From being considered to be one of the Fragile Five among emerging markets five years ago, the Indian economy has emerged as a top investment destination, with ratings upgrade from Moody’s Investor Services last year. Financial sector reforms, be it the GST or the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) were both long overdue. The previous government had left the country’s economy in shambles with a ballooning current account deficit, high inflation, falling forex reserves, and a shaky housing market. Similarly to curb Black Money, demonetization and RERA (Real Estate Regulation Act) for notification of Benami Property Act have been successfully done.
Employment and Poverty Alleviation
In the last four and half years of Modi government, the automobile and transport sector in the country has grown at a rapid pace. As per an article by TV Mohandas Pai & Yash Baid in the Financial Express, the transport sector generated 34 lakh jobs in FY 18 while in the first 9 months of FY 19, almost 28 lakh jobs were created. PM Modi led NDA government has also approved 10 percent reservation for economically weaker section of the general category.
According to a report, the reservation quota will also include private-run higher educational institutions. As many as 8.5 million young people have got jobs under the government’s flagship employment generation scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY).
Based on Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data, more than 45 lakh formal jobs were created from September 2017 to April 2018. In the last four years, five crore poor have come out of poverty.
When we compare PM Modi with all his predecessors, PM appears way ahead of all his contemporaries. The developmental works undertaken by the Modi government is commendable. On the other hand, Prime Minister interacting has remained very close and shares a warm and open attitude with youth. The first-time voters being well informed about every issue are set to vote for PM Modi and give the NDA another term.