UP polls 2017: Young unemployed voters are expected to be the biggest game changer in this election.
Across Samajwadi Party bastions that went to polls on Sunday, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has pegged his campaign on “
Kaam” – meaning the development works he claims his government has done. But in huge swathes of the state, including Kanpur, which voted that day, had a rather different interpretation of the word:
Kaam, meaning jobs, something thousands of graduates in this industrial hub have been awaiting for years. It is these young voters – educated, qualified, toting laptops and cellphones but still unemployed – who are expected to be the biggest game changer in this election.
"Big banners all over the city say ‘
Parhega India Barhega India’ (india will study and grow) but what about those who are already educated?” questioned Shivam Tripathi. The 26-year-old graduated 5 years ago and has been filling forms since. But he is yet to get a job.
“Kanpur is an industrial hub there should enough and more jobs but they never reach us,” he said, standing in queue at yet another call center.
Ramesh Singh, 36, a graduate who drives a mini-van to make a living, said, "For the past 10 or 12 years, I ran from pillar to post for a job. I didn't find any, so had to drive this tempo," he said.
It is young people like Mr Tripathi and Mr Singh whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been addressing at his Sunday’s rally in Fatehpur, when he said governance in Uttar Pradesh was riddled with discrimination.
The Dalits complain that their share is given to the Other Backward Classes, "who in turn point finger towards Muslims and Yadavs, while Yadavs say that only the family people get the benefits," PM Modi had said. Accusing the state government of corruption, he said no one can get jobs without recommendations or the bribe, and asked people to vote for the BJP if they wanted a change.
Mr Tripathi’s friend Virendra Awasthi, however, said he was through with the rhetoric of all political parties, who promise jobs but do nothing. "Most jobs are reserved. Where is the vacancy? Whoever works for the youth will get our vote. Enough of identity politics," he said.
A central government report suggests that the number of unemployed people in Uttar Pradesh could touch 1 crore by next year. The state government says it requires more time to address the problem. But on the roads, angry unemployed young men said the issue of jobs will make or break this election.