“We expect them to keep their word. Nothing more,” was how a young voter from Meppayur responded when asked about the candidates in the forthcoming local body polls.
These youngsters are rather new members of the electorate but they are aware of the local issues or try to study them before casting their vote.
The youngsters’ demands from their representatives in the local bodies mainly revolve around infrastructural development, mostly roads. “The road I regularly use is in a deplorable condition and has been remaining so for the last decade or so despite the repeated offers to repair it by several candidates,” Aishwarya Anilkumar, a young voter from Balussery said while Arjun A.R. from Meppayur was complaining about a road that had not been tarred for the past 30 years even though every candidate who passed through it had promised to get it done all these years.
“We are new voters. But we make it a point to collect information from our parents about the promises kept and neglected by previous panchayat members,” said Krishnapriya M.P., a 19-year-old voter from Kaduppini in Olavanna panchayat. Aishwarya is worried about the pollution caused by the nearby quarry and the vehicles to the quarry ruining the road, while Krishnapriya is worried about the flooding of their house and nearby areas as water rises in the Mampuzha.
“The water crisis peaks in our locality every summer. But the authorities are not taking steps to keep the public wells clean,” Arjun complained.
They are concerned about more serious issues too. Nahja T.T. from Omassery feels that the local bodies should take more steps to improve the standard of local schools and hospitals and for the empowerment of women.
Most of the new generation does not look for the party symbol while they cast their votes, especially in the local body polls. “These are people we see in our daily lives and know our problems directly. Hence, the attitude and personality of the candidate is what matters most,” Aishwarya said, echoing the opinions of several others.
