At a time when the trust level of
people in the politicians has diminished, Delhi assembly elections have come as
a fresh change. And who have been the harbingers of change? They are youth, who
have reposed their trust in the electoral system as never before. The large
voter-turn out in the elections has been mainly due to their increasing level
of participation. Delhi’s 65.13% voter turn-out has been a landmark, in which
around 2% of the total turn-out can be attributed to youth alone.
So, has a paradigm shift come? It is too early
to say, but the level of trust shown by the youth started with a social cause-the
movement against corruption started by Anna Hazare. A committed leadership
united for a big cause attracted the youth, who started trusting the leaders
who appeared to them the agents of change in a decadent political culture. But,
when the movement fizzled out, and Arvind Kejriwal parted out to form a
political party, the trust level appeared to be broken. Kejriwal’s call to
youth to enter the political fray to bring in systematic change strengthened
the trust.
Much will now depend on the results of Delhi elections.
The trust of youth in AAP will show a real test when the results are out. However, it appears that AAP is bound to emerge as a
major political force in future, and youth will be its prime target group. To
what extent AAP is able to keep the trust level of youth intact based on its
performance, has to be seen. The promise of systematic change has to be
translated into reality. Today, the country faces a big challenge to ensure
that the youth increase their level of trust in politics. At a deeper level, the
trust level of youth in politics, will increase only if more such alternatives
promising change like AAP emerge. The rising awareness level of youth towards political
issues can be utilised in a constructive way only if trust-worthy political equations
emerge which strike a popular chord in the minds of dominant youth population.
