Leaders bank upon student leaders to woo young voters

New Delhi: Reaching out to the grassroots level, arranging visits, campaigning for candidates, and connecting with young voters are a few of the responsibilities that political parties have allocated to their student union leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

While the student union elections have long been viewed as a stepping stone to mainstream electoral politics, political parties see them as an efficient way of connecting with the youth and forming a base.

With the first phase of Lok Sabha elections just a week away, the students’ unions at various universities have been working hard to boost the poll prospects of their parent parties.

Delhi University Students’ Union president Shakti Singh, a member of BJP’s Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, said: “Before the polls were announced, we held a voter awareness campaign in DU colleges and some residential areas nearby where we told people that they should support the right-wing in the interest of nationalism.”

Student leaders in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), which is one of the most politically charged varsities in the country, are planning to go to different states to campaign for the candidates of their respective political parties.

JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) joint secretary Amutha Jayadeep said she, along with others, will tell students at different universities that policies of both the BJP and Congress are aimed at denying access to education and making it more exclusive.

Students’ groups at varsities like Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia Islamia; and Jadavpur University, where struggle is on for restoring students’ union elections, are also campaigning for the political parties they are associated with and persuading people to vote for them. Some students’ unions are also working to encourage voters to make informed choices.