Sunil Sharma ( cover story )
At A Glance
* 40567 youths will vote for first time
* 2.05 lakh youths in 18-19 years age group
* 12.03 lakh youths in 20-29 years age group
* 49% female voters
* 29.5% voters out of over 49 lakh electorate are youth
* Names of 47,523 dead and shifted voters deleted from the rolls
* 24.07 lakh women voters and 24.98 lakh male voters besides three NRI and 12 transgender voters
* 7,516 polling stations will be set up at 6,820 locations
Sunil Sharma
The parties make tall promises to woo young voters. And similar is the case with regard to women votes who constitute majority of the voters in rural areas. Political parties also make promises keeping the interests of this large section of voters.
As many as 40567 youths out of more than 2 lakh voters will cast their franchise for the first time in upcoming Himachal assembly elections due later this year. Also, 49.5 lakh voters consist of 29.5% youths in this hilly state, including 2.05 lakh voters in 18 to 19 years age category and 12.03 lakh youths in 20 to 29 years age category. Importantly, women also account for 49% of total voters.
9 Lakh Unemployed
Most affected voters in the state are youths as figure of unemployed has crossed 9 lakh mark. Himachali educated youths are not fit for employment in private sector due to lack of experience. As a result, they have to shift to other states to earn livelihood. Despite tall claims, Himachali youths are not getting employment in industries established in the state. It will be interesting to watch how political parties try to woo youths as they have power to impact poll prospects of any candidate or party in this state.
70% Employment Condition
Successive government since 2003 have been making claim of providing 70% employment to Himachali youths in industries established in Himachal. Not only this, there was an announcement to issue identity cards to such Himachalis also but no such step has been taken in this regard. People from outside Himachal have been successful in small and big employment opportunities in industrial units.
1.25 Lakh New Voters
Nearly 1.25 lakh new voters have been enrolled in Himachal in the run up to state general assembly elections due later this year. Out of these, 40567 voters will use their franchise for the first time in elections.
No District-wise Survey
No survey has been conducted to know the percentage of youth voters district wise. Nonetheless, they constitute a large section of the electorate in Mandi and Kangra, the two most densely populated districts in Himachal. Surprisingly, industrialisation has not been undertaken in these two big districts as compared to progress made in industrial belts bordering neighbouring states.
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Muskan Is CEC’s Youth Icon
A.K. Joti Chief Election Commissioner of India
100 Election Awareness Vehicles
The department has set the goal to substantially increase the percentage of voting in Himachal Pradesh through sustained awareness campaign to draw more and more voters to the election booth. He said that there were 49.05 lakh voters in the state as per the latest voting list published on September September, 2017. For effective implementation of instructions of Chief Election Commissioner of India, a detailed work plan had been prepared in the State. More than 100 election awareness vehicles have been engaged to aware the voters of every constituency of the State.
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