This Article is From May 04, 2009

Polls not about glitzy campaigns for Bikaner youth

Phalodi (Rajasthan):

The youth, their vote, their mobilisation, their political participation, the young turks in politics - these are themes that have gripped the imagination in these elections. Ironically though much of this has focussed on the elite youth, who live in towns and cities like Bombay, but NDTV travels to the far reaches of Thar Desert to Bikaner, and finds on sand dune villages, young people who really know their politics.

"When I vote I have a right to know why the promises made to me five years ago have not yet been fulfilled," said a local youth.

In the villages of Bikaner, the young people do not need glitzy ad campaigns to mobilise them. They have their own simple song.

What's more - they call the Lok Sabha elections a semi-final, a preparing ground for the panchayat elections that will be held in 2010. They use the opportunity to campaign for themselves for a panchayat seat.

"If I become a sarpanch, I will take all decisions based on what people want," said a young resident.

Pushpa and her friends have a simple logic - while their MP and MLA would sit in Delhi or Jaipur, the sarpanch is the one who directly impacts their lives, and battling corruption at the panchayat level becomes critical.

"The panchayat is the backbone of our democratic system. We have to strengthen this first and then automatically the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha elections will have some meaning," said Iqbal, resident, Noore Ki Buri village.

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