Youth likely to determine election result: analyst
More than 378 million eligible voters are between the ages of 18 and 35, according to census records.
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After 10 years of rule by Congress and the Gandhi family dynasty, surveys show the young electorate yearning for change, frustrated about the country's direction and irked by higher food prices.
Political analyst Dr Pradeep Taneja from the University of Melbourne told SBS young voters are likely to influence the election outcome.
"Young people are impatient for a growing economy, employment," he said. "Judging by all the opinion polls that the younger demographic are likely to vote for Modi. So it’s possible that he could get a big chunk of that vote."
Roughly 814.5 million people are registered to vote, an increase of more than 100 million since the last parliamentary election in 2009, according to Reuters. Of those, more than 378 million eligible voters are between the ages of 18 and 35, according to census records.
Reuters reports there are 23 million people in the 18 to 19 age bracket alone. A surge in enrolment in this age group means they now constitute 2.88 percent of total voters, against 0.75 percent in 2009. More than half of the country is aged under 25.
Modi, a hawkish three-times chief minister from western Gujarat state, is the son of a tea seller who has risen through the ranks of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to become the leading prime ministerial candidate.
Though tainted by religious riots and often viewed with hostility by Muslims, the right-winger has marketed himself as an economic reformer intent on rebooting the economy and creating jobs.
"For the past six months in every corner of India I have been talking of changing India's future, development, youth employment and respect for women," Modi told in a rally.
Source: Sbs
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