Elections? The youth ain't any excited

PUNE: A dearth of candidates who could inspire the youth, no mass voter registration drives, no recorded messages from the Prime Minister on their mobile phones, no Sam Pitroda....
Elections as far as a large section of generation Y is concerned, only just got over. "Elections? Didn''t we just have one," quipped a 19- year-old.
With exams approaching and festivals in the air, the state assembly isn''t exactly dominating conversations in the canteens.
"No one really believes that any of the candidates can actually make a difference. When campaign speeches revolve around Savarkar or giving free power to farmers, one can''t blame the youth for being indifferent," said Harshad Karandikar, a final year mechanical engineering student.
The cynicism towards politics and politicians and the regressive ideas on which the elections are being fought, said Harshad, were responsible for the lack of motivation among young people to vote.
Indira Rao, a second year degree student, was among the volunteers who took part in the voter registration drives in colleges following the Lok Sabha elections. Of the 2500 forms distributed in college campuses, only 800 filled-out forms were received.
"The excitement has died down and, unlike the Lok Sabha elections, there is no hype this time around. Students are not in the habit of reading papers, so they aren''t really in the know. Besides, there are exams to worry about," said Indira, who is also a member of the youth group, Youth for Change.
"The election campaigns don''t really capture our imagination. I don''t think a lot of us even know that elections are around. Frankly, I don''t think it makes a difference one way or the other, they all seem to be saying the same thing," said Kavita Carnerio, a second year arts student, explaining the lack of excitement among students for the assembly polls.
During the Lok Sabha polls, voluntary groups like the Citizens Initiative for Better Pune had successfully mobilised the youth to carry out mass voter registration drives in colleges and volunteer to man helplines on election day.
Still motivated by that campaign, Pranav Patil said, "The enthusiasm witnessed during the Lok Sabha elections, since they were held after a long time, isn''t there this time. But the awareness that state assembly elections are coming is definitely there. It is just that the students need to motivate each other and generate the excitement."