Demographic Dividend : The Evolving Paradigm of Indian Polity

Abstract

Any election in a democratic nation like India is hugely influenced by the numerous demographic factors. Age is definitely one of them. In no other election the impact of the same was more prominent than the last lok sabha election. Around 150 million people, aged 18-23 years were qualified to vote for the first time. Such a huge number is equivalent to the voting population of many European nations. Naturally, they were touted to be the game-changers in this regard and the final tally only confirmed that. Prior to the election, it was found that, on an average, 1.79 lakh new voters were to be added to each of the 543 constituencies across the country. Approximately 24 percent of them, or 43,000 were to be first-timer voters. To gauge the significance of the same and put into perspective, the 2009 lok sabha election, predecessor to the last election, witnessed a winning margin of less than this in 226 of the constituencies which went into the election. This research paper would delve upon the interesting aspects related to the same and would analyze the role that youth played in the general election, the influence they wielded on the performance of each of the two major parties and candidates. The youth voted like never before in the history of Indian politics. It would highlight the uniqueness of this election as compared to other elections in the Indian political history with regard to one of the most significant demographic factors.