With young and first-time voters showing a lack of interest to vote, the Congress on Thursday launched the ‘Yuva Matha’ campaign to attract youngsters to polling booths on May 10, the polling day of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections.
Under the platform ‘Yuva Matha’, the party will focus on first-time youth voters and those in the age group 18 to 23. ‘Celebrate your vote’ is the campaign theme coined by the party to attract young voters. The number of young electors who attained the age of 18 between January 2022 and January 2023 was about 9.58 lakh in Karnataka.
General secretary of the National Youth Congress, M.S. Raksha Ramaiah, said: “Lack of interest and a careless attitude among the youth are the major reasons for poor voting.” The platform highlights the importance of casting vote among first-time voters and the youth, followed by issues faced by them.
The initiative is to create awareness by educating the youth and catering to their issues, resulting in the betterment of their lives, said AICC general secretary Abhishek Dutta and Mr. Ramaiah, who also served as the Karnataka Youth Congress president.
Youth Congress workers will visit colleges and universities and prevail upon the youth the importance of participating in the democratic process. “We will hold skits, interactive sessions, and workshops to create awareness,” Mr. Ramaiah said.
To seek support of the youth, under the Yuva Nidhi, the party has announced providing a monthly allowance of ₹3,000 to unemployed youth for two years and ₹1,500 to diploma holders.
Mr. Ramaiah said the Congress government would fill 2.5 lakh vacant posts in the government and also create employment opportunities to the extent of 10 to 15 lakhs per year in the private sector.
