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Youth Vote Key In India’s Marathon Elections

1 minute read

(More: In India, 150 Million People Will Be Voting For The First Time This Year)

Photographs by Sumit Dayal for TIME

Azad Singh, 23: “Expenses are running out of hand.” Azad is gold-medal wrestler and first time voter from New Delhi. Rising inflation means his special athlete’s diet is bleeding him dry.
Azad Singh, 23, Wrestler Singh is worried about rising inflation, which means he is spending much more on his special wrestler’s diet. A member of the country's middle class, he believes that only Narendra Modi, the controversial leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata party can fix the economy.Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Sadaf, 20, Physiotherapy student A resident of old Delhi, Sadaf belongs to a Muslim family and believes that the veil is as much a cultural inheritance as it is religious. She has been won over by the anti-corruption agenda of the new Aam Aadmi Party headed by Arvind Kejriwal.Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Sunny Tayeng, 24, Chemistry student Tayeng, an activist from Arunachal Pradesh, is fighting for justice for a young boy from the northeast killed in Delhi this year in an attack that highlighted racial tensions. Tayeng has just voted in the elections, thanks to a new provision allowing northeastern students to vote in the capital.Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Shadwal Srivastava (lying down), 20, Fashion design student Openly gay Srivastava voted for a government that he hopes will be empathetic towards the rights of the gay community. Late last year, the India Supreme Court overturned an historic lower court judgment that had decriminalized homosexuality in 2009.Sumit Dayal for TIME
Mayank Jain, 20, a final year student of business studies at Delhi University. He loves reading literature and poetry and carries his Kindle on the New Delhi Metro ride to college. Mayank has been working as a trainee editor at Youth Ki Awaaz for the past 7 months. He has decided to vote for a candidate and not a party.
Mayank Jain, 20, Business student Jain is a typical young man who carries his Kindle on his Delhi Metro ride to college. Mayank works as a trainee editor at Youth Ki Awaaz (Voice of the Youth), an online platform for young people, trying to raise awareness among India’s youth to make informed choices while voting. Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Sushil Yadav, 25, History graduate and proof-reader Blind since birth, Haryana boy Yadav, believes that the Narendra Modi-run Gujarat state should be a model for the rest of country. In the future he hopes to see more opportunities for disabled people, especially in the corporate sector. Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Sapna, 21, Acid attack activist Sapna works with the ‘Stop Acid Attacks’ campaign. A victim of an attack herself, her concern for women’s safety and security encouraged her to vote for the first time in the ongoing elections. Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Bhaswati, 21, Sociology student Bhaswati is passionate about the environment and volunteers with an organization called ‘Swechha’ that began as campaign to raise awareness about pollution in the River Yamuna. Bhaswati feels there is a distinct lack of commitment from the government when it comes to environmental issues. Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Meghana Rathore, 20, Political science student Meghana writes for the online platform Youth Ki Awaaz (Voice of the Youth). She feels social ills like child labor, malnourishment, trafficking are all pervasive, and need to be addressed imminently. Seeking a change in the political system, she voted for the new Aam Aadmi party. Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Anup Shah, 21, Engineering student Shah volunteers for the Aam Aadmi party in his spare time. He believes that the party, which has its roots in an anti-corruption movement that came to national prominence in 2011, can change India’s feudal system of governance. Sumit Dayal for TIME
Shruti, 22, English graduate A recent graduate, Shruti is currently managing user content at Youth Ki Awaaz and is working towards getting legal working rights for sex workers in India. Shruti hopes that at some point a political party will broaden their horizons to include fringe issues like these too in their manifestos. She voted for a candidate and not a party.
Shruti, 22, English graduate A recent graduate, Shruti manages user content at Youth Ki Awaaz (Voice of the Youth) and campaigns for legal working rights for sex workers in India. She backed the BJP candidate seeking a parliamentary seat from her Delhi constituency.Sumit Dayal for TIME
The Next Generation of Voters - India Elections 2014.
Ruksar (standing), 24 & Sufia, (sitting) 22 Ruksar and Sufia live in old Delhi. They belong to the country's transgender community, which received a boost when the Supreme Court, in a recent landmark ruling, recognized their gender. Both Sufia and Ruksar voted for the Congress party, which heads the incumbent coalition government.Sumit Dayal for TIME

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