BIHAR LEADERS FACE YOUTH TEST

WITH the Bihar election campaign gaining steam, the spotlight is increasingly focused on three key factors—the caste calculus, alliance chemistry and women’s vote—that past elections have highlighted.

- SANDEEP SHASTRI

Yet another issue gaining ascendancy this time is the role of the state’s young voters. Youth across South Asia have been at the forefront of change in recent times. Will they be a decisive factor in Bihar too? And whose electoral fortunes are they most likely to affect?

At the start, it may be useful to elaborate on the significant presence of youth in Bihar. There are varying reports on the numbers. Many times, the percentage of youth in the total population is given, while at others, their share in the electorate is considered.

A recent release of cohort-wise elector information projected that the 18-29 cohort constituted almost a fourth of the total electors in the state as on January 1, 2024. If every one in four voters are from this age segment, their impact would be significant as well as strategic. Further, the youth variable remains crucial in all the three factors mentioned earlier—caste calculations, alliance support and women’s vote.

Studies done in the late 1990s and the 2000s indicated that the youth vote in India went more or less in the same direction as that of older voters. Unlike in some Western democracies, one did not see too much variation.