Congress pushes for young voters in Lok Sabha election

The Youth Congress has been tasked with delivering yuva guarantee cards at door step of the young electorate with party’s employment centric promises

A file photo of B.V. Srinivas, National President of Indian Youth Congress | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Repeatedly tripped by the first time voters the Congress is trying to walk the extra mile in this poll season bringing yuva guarantee cards with promises centred around employment to their doorstep.  

Compared to 2019, the first time voters who are classified as anyone between the age of 18 and 19, is up by 20%. A total of 1.8 crore voters fall under this category, while 19.7 crore voters fall under the age group of 20 to 29 years, who the Congress is particularly targeting. 

The unemployment rate dipped sharply from 8% in December last year to 6.57% in January this year. Even with the dip, the rate still remains higher than what it used to be in the United Progressive Alliance years. 

The Youth Congress has been tasked by the party to distribute these guarantee cards to at least 10,000 households in every assembly segment. The cards - list out some of the assurances made by the party during the course of its Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra that includes - Right to Apprenticeship - which promises one year compulsory apprenticeship with the government, public or private sector organisation with a stipend of ₹1 lakh a year.

The other promises include filling up 30 lakh vacancies in government, bringing stringent legislation to tackle leaking of question paper of various competitive exams, scrapping the short term recruitment scheme for armed forces under the Agnipath programme, providing social security to gig workers and providing financial aids for start ups.   

“The BJP has been making a whole lot of promises to the youth promising them jobs and a better future but haven’t delivered on any of them, instead they are keeping them engaged with religious propaganda. It is this false narrative that we are seeking to counter,” B.V. Srinivas, National President of Indian Youth Congress, told The Hindu. 

Mr. Srinivas pointed out that between the Indian Railways and the armed forces, the government annually offered close to 80,000 new jobs. This has completely disappeared, with the Agniveer scheme, and the privatisation of the Indian Railways.

“In a double whammy there has been multiple cases of leaking of question papers of the competitive exams of the few jobs that are still on offer,” he said, adding that the government took little or no action in such cases. The party has also planned 500 town halls to discuss these issues concentrating on the young electorate.