KOLKATA/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – More jobs and a better education are priorities for 20-year-old Rushan Kumar, who makes a living selling flowers in India's eastern state of West Bengal. And first-time voters want to choose a government that provides them with just that.
India's general election, which begins on Friday, is the world's largest campaign with more than 18 million people voting for the first time.
Opinion polls predict Prime Minister Narendra Modi will win a third term, but new voters like Kumar are determined to make their voices heard.
“I will vote for a party that will work on educational development. I will vote for a party that will provide jobs. That will create jobs,” Kumar, a Modi supporter, told Reuters.
Mr. Kumar's priorities match those of many people his age. Rising tensions between religious groups, inflation and job shortages are the top concerns that have emerged during Mr Modi's decade-long rule, according to a survey of 1,290 first-time voters in New Delhi by pollster CSDS-Lokniti. was.
Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said they would vote for Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, given the government's strong economic growth record, amid pride in building a huge Hindu temple.
Despite growing faster than the rest of the world, India's economy is struggling to create enough jobs for its people. According to a report by the International Labor Organization and the Human Development Institute, young people make up the majority of the country's unemployed workforce.
Akansha Majumdar, a 20-year-old engineering student from West Bengal, said the Indian government needs to eradicate illiteracy and provide job security.
To capitalize on such disillusionment, India's main opposition Congress has promised paid apprenticeships. Prime Minister Modi's party manifesto also focuses on job creation.
Along with jobs and rising costs, community harmony is also a priority for many young voters.
Mohammad Aijaz Ansari, 19, a Delhi-based laptop repairman, said fighting in the “name of religion” exists everywhere and should not exist. He plans to vote for the Congress-allied Aam Aadmi Party (Common People's Party).
In a report released last year, the US State Department expressed concern about India's treatment of Muslims and other religious minorities. Prime Minister Modi denies discrimination against minorities.
(Reporting by Sahiba Chaudhary in Kolkata, Priyanshu Singh and Sunil Kataria in New Delhi; Additional reporting and writing by Shivangi Acharya in New Delhi; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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