Bihar Assembly elections are in two phases, voting is on 121 seats in the first phase on 6 November and 122 seats in the second phase on 11 November. Young voters will decide the condition and direction of this election, due to which the entire politics is being centered around the youth. This time all eyes are on where the young voters, especially Gen-Z, stand in the Bihar elections?
This time the Bihar Assembly elections are being fought in a very different manner, because 58 percent of the state’s population is below 25 years of age. This time around 25 percent voters in the state are Gen-Z, out of which 14.7 lakh voters will vote for the first time.
Bihar has the highest proportion of youth in the country. That is why in the elections, all the parties are keeping an eye on Gen-Z voters, to whom all kinds of promises have been made to connect with them. From Jan Suraj’s Prashant Kishore to Grand Alliance Tejashwi Yadav And NDA leaders including Chirag Paswan are making efforts to woo the youth.
How important are Gen-Z voters in Bihar?
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The youth born between 1997 and 2012 are known as Gen-Z. Total voters in Bihar are 7.41 crore. Among these, the number of male voters is 3 crore 92 lakh 7 thousand 804 and the number of female voters is 3 crore 49 lakh 82 thousand 828.
The number of voters born after 1997 i.e. Gen-Z is 1.75 crore. This number is so large that this youth class has the ability to decide the difference between victory and defeat of any alliance, hence on an average 70 thousand voters are youth in every seat. 24 percent of the total voters of Bihar are Gen-Z voters, who have the power to fuel any movement and form the government of any party.
Young voters born in the internet era
The youth born between 1997 and 2012 are counted in the category of Generation Z. Since birth, Gen-Z has seen with their own eyes the increasing influence of computers, mobiles, internet and social media. These youth, who started their life by playing games on mobile and watching cartoon movies, have seen the system and comforts of the country and the world by using the internet.
As Gen-Z grew up, they entered the online world and started understanding the good and bad of their lives, and are also comparing the system of their country and state with the world. CM Nitish Kumar When they give speeches that what was the government like 20 years ago or what was the condition of the state at that time, they will not even remember from which quagmire Bihar has come out of and where it has reached.
Ever since Nitish Kumar’s government was formed, there are a good number of voters born after that, who have only seen the rule of Nitish Kumar, they have not seen the governments of Lalu Yadav or Congress. However, opposition parties have been reminding Lalu government.
Young voters have a different way of understanding politics, this is also visible in their voting pattern. Young voters have a long list of questions and they do not want to stand with old style politics. That is why in the Bihar assembly elections, political parties are setting their election agenda by understanding their political pulse so that they can win their trust.
Who will the young voters go with?
The biggest question in the Bihar Assembly elections is which leader or idea will these youth make their first choice. Will the youth trust Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national leadership and vision of development? or else Prashant Kishore Will you choose the clean politics of (PK) and the talk of change of ‘Jan Suraj’? Or will you trust Tejashwi Yadav’s youth-centric politics?
According to Lokniti-CSDS, 21 percent voters in the 2020 elections had named unemployment, lack of jobs, recruitment and industries as the major issues influencing their voting decision. That is why an attempt is being made to set a political narrative on the issue of employment and migration.
NDA’s youth policy
Many schemes have been started in the last few years with the aim of reducing unemployment in Bihar. This time, before the announcement of Bihar Assembly elections, Nitish Kumar announced to give Rs 1,000 per month for two years to graduates and unemployed people even after passing 12th. Apart from this, Nitish Kumar has promised to provide one crore jobs.
PM Modi remains at the forefront in winning the trust of the youth who vote for the first time. His image is that of a strong, decisive and global leader. Young voters are influenced by nationalism, Hindutva and a big vision of the country’s development. The process of getting the benefits of ‘Mudra Yojana’, ‘Digital India’ and government schemes directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries has impressed the youth. Apart from this, NDA ally Chirag Paswan is busy wooing the youth by announcing ‘Bihar First’.
Tejashwi Yadav’s promise to the youth
RJD leader and CM face of Grand Alliance, Tejashwi Yadav has even changed his look to woo the youth. Nowadays, instead of kurta-pajama, Tejashwi is seen wearing a T-shirt, whether it is a press conference or an election rally. Apart from this, he has promised that if the Grand Alliance comes to power, it will ensure a government job to every family in the state.
Tejashwi Yadav is making many promises for the youth ranging from education. He has announced to open a medical college and an engineering, paramedical and polytechnic college in every district. He is busy setting the issue of migration and employment, on which Congress had organized a yatra in Bihar.
PK is showing dreams to the youth
Prashant Kishore, who entered the political field from election strategist, is busy in giving a new direction to the politics of Bihar. PK is presenting his Jan Suraj Party as an alternative to NDA and Grand Alliance, for which he is busy cornering Nitish on issues like corruption in Bihar, poor system, delay in college session and lack of jobs.
PK wants to win the hearts of Gen-Z voters by creating new hopes of change and employment among the youth, but the question is whether the youth of Bihar will be able to stand strongly with PK. This question is also because PK has entered the electoral fray for the first time, but neither does he have a strong organization like BJP, JDU and RJD, nor does he fit into the political equation?
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