UP polls 2017 : Youth pray for jobs, not religion

Faster and easier broadband connectivity, Wi-Fi hotspots, are on wish list of youth in Faizabad

Faizabad, Vote, Elections, UP — People wait to cast their votes at a polling station for Assembly polls in Faizabad

Last Updated : Feb 28 2017 | 9:28 AM IST

Gyanendra Khushwaha furiously types away on his laptop the last few topics of his presentation that he has to submit to his coaching centre. The 18-year-old engineering aspirant’s laptop, which he calls a “medal” for his performance in the Class XII boards, has made it easier for him to learn better, faster and inch closer to his dream.

“The laptop has changed the way I learn. My father is a foreman at a nearby factory. He would not have been able to buy it for me,” he said. All he yearns for is faster, cheaper and easily available broadband connectivity, maybe a few Wi-Fi hotspots around town for better access to test papers and, of course, his favourite YouTube videos.

Khushwaha is one of the 1.8 million meritorious students who got free laptops, courtesy Akhilesh Yadav. As the fifth phase of the Assembly elections was underway on Monday, Uttar Pradesh’s youth expect the new government to look beyond the issue of constructing the Ram temple.

In Ayodhya, the heart of the Ram Mandir tussle, the youth yearn for better education, job opportunities, faster internet connections, snazzy malls and multiplexes.

“Though I have visited Ram Lalla Temple a couple of times, I do not find any connect with the whole dispute around it,” said Nikhil Mahajan, a 21-year-old college student in Sultanpur. “I am worried more about my career. There are things I need such as faster internet which I do not get here. I want to shop online like people in cities such as New Delhi, but here I am not able to do that. These are the things I expect the government to do in Uttar Pradesh.”

Referring to the Samajwadi Party (SP)'s promise of free laptops once again, along with smartphones, Seema Rani Ahir, who is learning computer programming at an institute in Sultanpur, said, “Just like giving cycles to girls helps them go to school, laptops will help us learn better.” According to her, the need is for a government which will help its people move ahead in life.

In fact, the SP's primary campaign plank has been around laptops and smartphones. In a recent tweet aimed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, SP leader and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav reiterated how his state government was fulfilling the Centre's Digital India dream. “Have distributed 18 lakh (1.8 mn) laptops to meritorious students in Uttar Pradesh. Fulfilling your dream of #DigitalIndia @narendramodi,” he tweeted (sic).

Akhilesh Yadav also accused the BJP of “copying” his party’s manifesto, including promises like free laptops to students. “We are talking of laptops, smartphones and development and the BJP is talking of graveyards and crematoriums,” the 43-year-old SP national president had said.

UP has, according to 2011 Census data, around 43 million aged 18-30, almost one-fifth of the state’s population of 200 million. To target them, both the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party have fielded relatively younger candidates.

Faizabad SP candidate and MLA Tej Narayan Pandey (35) said there's a clear connect with the youth, because of the CM and his choice of mostly young candidates for elections. “The CM has not only done a lot in terms of work, he has also been able to pick up the right kind of candidates. The young people relate to our CM. This has helped us in holding on to our young voter base.”