Sahil More and Kashyap Salvi study at the "study lane" in Mumbai's Worli area.
With the national election less than a month away, political parties are busy campaigning and have also started naming their candidates from various regions. The Election Commission of India, which last week announced the poll dates, says that as many as 15 million new voters across the country will cast their votes this year.
But, most of the first-time voters are concerned about their future.
Speaking to NDTV, young voters shared their concerns, issues and hopes from the new government.
Mumbai University student Kashyap Salvi who aspires to work in the banking sector feels that change is necessary. "In 2014, the generation before us voted for a fresh government with hopes of ample job opportunities. But most of the promises remain unfulfilled. Topics like Ram temple, Rafale and Pulwama resurfaced," he says.
"Being a new voter, I too have same hopes. The youth in the country also think about which new face will address their issues and problems," the third-year bachelor of commerce student added.
Kashyap Salvi is under immense pressure to get a decent job, as his father has been unemployed for the last three months
Kashyap Salvi who spends five hours in the evening studying at Worli area's "study lane" every day is under immense pressure to get a decent job, as his father has been unemployed for the last three months.
According to a report released by independent think-tank Center for Monitoring Indian Economy, the unemployment rate stood at 7.2 per cent in February 2019, highest in two years.
The employment rate for February 2019 was 39.7 per cent as against 41.8 per cent in November 2017.
The total number of employed people remained at 400 million in February 2019, which is 7.9 million less than February 2018.
Sahil More, lives in Mumbai's BDD chawl, in a 180 sq ft house with seven family members. His father works with the city's transport body and his mother is a homemaker.
Sahil More prefers studying with Kashyap Salvi at the "study lane" because of his crowded home.
But, his dream to become a chartered accountant seems very distant. "After completing my graduation, I will work but why should I vote for a political leader who doesn't even create jobs. I will only vote for the person who is capable of reducing unemployment," he says.
I will only vote for the person who is capable of reducing unemployment, says Sahil More
Recently, the mad rush for jobs was highlighted in Maharashtra when 7,000 graduates applied for 13 vacant positions for a waiter at the secretariat just a few weeks ago.
Stressing on the increasing competition for jobs, Kashyap Salvi said, "It is not that the recruitment process is not in place, but there are 1,00,000 forms and only 40,000 get selected. This leads to job crunch."