Op-Ed: The neglect of younger voters is a lost opportunity for political parties
There are numerous problems with the way politics has been conducted and conducted itself for over a decade now. Among these problems is the lack of participation of younger voters in politics. Younger voters in India have always been politically apathetic; they are unaware of what is happening in the government and politics.
To understand the situation, we must look at the age groups of young voters. According to the National Election Study (NES), the age groups which form the basis of all electoral polls in India are the 18-24 years, 25-34 years, 35-44 years, 45-54 years, 55-64 years and 65 years and above.
According to the NES, the percentage of older voters was 42.1 percent in 2014, which is a slight increase from the 42.0 percent figure in the previous parliamentary elections in 2012. The percentage of 18-24 years of voters was 19.1 percent in 2014, which is a slight decrease from the 20.0 percent figure in the previous parliamentary elections. The percentages of 25-34 years of voters were 20.0 percent in 2014, which is a slight decrease from the 21.7 percent figure in the 2012 parliamentary elections.
The percentage of 35-44 years of voters was 17.6 percent in 2014, which is a slight increase from the 18.0 percent figure in the 2012 parliamentary elections. The percentage of 45-54 years of voters was 13.5 percent in 2014, which is a slight decrease from the 14.3 percent figure in the 2012 parliamentary elections. The percentage of 55-64 years of voters were 5.6 percent in 2014, which is a slight decrease from the 5.8 percent figure in 2012. The percentage of 65 years and above of voters was 1.4 percent in 2014, which is a slight increase from the 1.0 percent figure in 2012 parliamentary elections.
The percentage of 18-24 years voters who participated in the elections was 14.8 percent in 2009, which was an increase from the 13.1 percent figure in the 2004 elections. However, the percentage of older voters who participated in the elections decreased by one percentage point from 15.9
