Before You Go To Vote: Five Things A Young Voter Should Keep In Mind (Part I)

Part I: Candidate Selection

The country goes to elections from April 7. The young minds of India, who constitute more than half of India’s population, are in a fix. All the parties are trying to woo them. Congress projects Rahul Gandhi as a youth leader but he lacks experience and vision. BJP projects Narendra Modi as a PM candidate but there are so many controversies attached to him. AAP has Arvind Kejriwal but his recent stint as Delhi chief minister was a downer. Whom to vote for?

To end this problem, here are five things that a young voter should keep in mind before going to vote.

Here they are:

1. Does the person I’m voting for have a vision? Most candidates talk a lot about the need to revive economy, remove poverty, strengthen defence and internal security and ensure social security, but few even understand the real problem. Women safety has become a major challenge. Before you head to the voting booth find out which candidates have clear vision of the problems surrounding the country and whether they have a clear plan to resolve such problems. Find out what they have to say and do about women safety.
2. What are they going to do about education? India used to be a pioneer in education. Now the top slotsof best universities in the world are filled with US and other foreign institutions. Youngsters are more inclined towards going to a foreign institution than studying in a home university. The aim is not only to increase the number of universities and institutions with affordable education, but also to create a high caliber educational system to lead in innovation and to providing them with the knowledge required to perform high skilled jobs.  Not to mention that these skilled jobs will pay for their debt or fund programs like medicare and social security.  So learn what is your candidate’s plan to reform primary education system and make sure that higher education is affordable.
3. Does my candidate have a plan to create jobs for the future? The world youngsters face is quite different from their parents. It is full of increased competition and decreasing resources. Also, having a job is a way to have secure future. It pulls a family out of the clutches of poverty and ensures better life. The number of jobs in this country is quite few. Many educated youngsters are jobless. A young voter should check whether his candidate has a plan not only to create jobs but the high skilled ones they will need to be competitive with the rest of the world.
4. What is their view on taxes? While the rich become richer, those who earn decent face the axe of tax daily. There are so many taxes that we pay in daily life and there are equally high number of cess that are forced on us. There is tax on buying any commodity, there is tax on investment, and there is tax on services. So understand what does your candidate has to say and do about high taxes.
5. What is their plan to fix the system? Everybody curses the system.Everybody rues the widespread corruption. But no one comes up with a solid plan to fix this system. The corruption in the system is not a one-point thing. It is a widespread malice which needs to be fixed through various checkpoints created at several fronts, like social security measures, educational reform, judicial reform, police reform, etc. Has your candidate proposed such systemic changes?

These five things, if checked before voting, will not only help youth to make an informed and right choice, it will also enable them to make a difference in the current political scenario of the country.

[The Part II (and the last) in the ‘Before You Go To Vote’ series will deal with Election Checklist and will follow on Monday.]