As the stage is all set for the 17th general elections in the world largest democratic country, the political parties and their supporters are all geared up. The campaigns are on a high, and the so-called ‘Josh(enthusiasm)’ is also high among the politicians, party workers as well as the voters. It must be admitted that political parties have tried hard to accommodate the expectations and ambitions of every section of the society in their respective manifestos.
There is no denying the fact that the youth and farmers play a vital role in Indian politics. But are their woes really paid heed to?
Congress in it’s manifesto said that if it returns to power, 22 lakh job vacancies will be filled by March 31, 2020. However, will this really put an end to the burgeoning issue of youth unemployment? Likewise, the BJP aspires to make India the third largest world economy by 2030, but how is the unemployment rate of a whopping 6.1% (that is highest in the past 45 years) justified? So, on whom we can rely?
The young population is the building block of the nation, but unfortunately, most of the political parties cash in on their dreams and hopes to garner votes. Moreover, nowadays, the new trend of jingoistic nationalism is being used as a tool to distract the young voter of this country from the actual issues on the ground. Indeed the present government made some stern decisions after the Pulwama attack which is quite appreciable, but how will it justify the gross neglect of other raging social and economic issues like unemployment, inflation, poverty, communal violence, etc. It seems as if everything just took a back seat amidst the chaos of Pulwama and Balakot.
Coming on to “farmers”. As we all are familiar that they are being misguided since independence and their existence is taken into cognizance only when the elections are nearing. The irony is the food providers of this country are ending their lives because of starvation. They have been always left with false promises and a few loan waivers.
Apparently, the government runs to the rescue of big industrialists when they go bankrupt, but doesn’t flinch an eye when thousands of farmers commit suicide because of indebtedness. Moreover, the real question is if the loan waiver is actually a solution to all their problems? It’s high time that the authorities came up with a concrete solution to put an end to the miseries of small and marginal farmers.
In such circumstances the youth, the farmers and every aware citizen of this nation should resolve to vote for the candidates who will actually work for their benefit at the grass root level without any vested interests. That person could be anyone, maybe not from any political party, maybe not a so-called ‘Bahubali’, maybe a literate or an illiterate, or maybe a social worker. Rather than casting your vote on the basis of caste, money or alcohol, vote for real change, vote for India as a whole.