EPIC show: Teenagers take West Bengal to top of 1st-time list

KOLKATA:If you thought Bengal’s

teenagers

didn’t have politics on their minds, think again. The state has clocked the highest registration of first-time

voters

in the country. A total of 20,67,303 teens (18- and 19-year-olds) have signed up to get inked and counted, beating Rajasthan (20.3 lakh). Uttar Pradesh, at 16.76 lakh, comes a distant third, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 13.6 lakh and Maharashtra with 11.99 lakh.


Murshidabad has topped the districts’ list, with more than 2 lakh teenagers entering their names in the electoral rolls for the

Lok Sabha

election that gets under way on Thursday. The two 24 Parganas, Nadia and Hooghly also have a significant number of youngsters who have registered to cast their vote.

It would appear that the enthusiasm was missing in Kolkata, with only 40,668 registering. But then, Kolkata’s population is significantly lower than that of the districts that figure high on the list.

Psephologist Biswanath Chakraborty feels the actual number of teenagers eligible to participate in elections is much higher than what the electoral roll reflects. “Most youngsters migrate to other cities and some to other countries to study,” he said. “As identity proof, Aadhaar and PAN cards suffice. Naturally, they don’t feel the need to obtain an EPIC.” The electoral rolls, published as part of summary revision since 2016, show that Bengal has added 79 lakh newly eligible voters, including teenagers, the highest in the country, followed by UP at 73.8 lakh and Rajasthan at 61.2 lakh.

Of the 40,668 teen voters that have registered in Kolkata, only 15,447 are from south Kolkata, the rest from north. South Kolkata fares only slightly better than the newly formed Kalimpong district, where 6,950 teens have enrolled. North Kolkata’s first-time voter registration is less than the smaller districts of Jhargram (25,548), Alipurduar (38,001) and Darjeeling (32,867).

First-time voter Ritam Basu, from north Kolkata’s Hatibagan, is euphoric about going to the polling station to cast his ballot. “My name has just appeared in the electoral roll. Over the years, I have seen everyone in the family debate on politics at election time and go to vote on election day, but I never had the opportunity until now. This time, I will get to express my opinion,” said the first-year Jadavpur University student.

Anamika Banerjee, who lives in south Kolkata’s Golf Green, was more cautious. “This is not about casting my vote, but about representing a generation in the democratic process. The country is ruled by people who hardly understand our demands. I want proper representation for our generation, so that we can form our opinion and shape our future,” said the first-year student.

Read this story in Bengali