At 20%, BJP most preferred party among youth, Congress support 10%, regional parties 13%

BJP most preferred party with 20% support from youth

By Rajiv Shah
Even as a new study has said that close to half (48%) the youths of India do not wish to identify themselves with any political party, what should be an eye-opener for the Congress is, while 20% of the Indian youths are “fond of the BJP”, exactly half, 10%, like the Congress.
Released early this week, the study has been prepared jointly by the Delhi-based Centre for the Study in Developing Societies (CSDS) and the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).
Carried out among 19 states among 6,122 respondents in the age group of 15-34 between April and May, 2016, its survey suggests, with the decline of the Congress, the regional parties, such as AIDMK, DMK, Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Shiromini Akali Dal, others appear to have gained, with 13% youths “liking” them.
The survey finds little support among the youths, just about 4%, among the parties identifies as “socialist”: Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Indian National Lok Dal, Biju Janata Dal, and Socialist Party. The two Left parties (CPM and CPI) are liked by another 2% of the youths.

As for the parties such as the Aam Aadmi Party and the Loksatta, whose founding principle was combat youths, they are liked by 2% of the youths, the study, titled “Attitudes, anxieties and aspirations of India’s youth: changing patterns”, says.
The survey further reveals that the support for the BJP is “highest among north Indian youth where 30% of the respondents said that they were close to the BJP”, adding, “Gap between the BJP and the Congress was least in eastern India where 19 percent of the youth supports the BJP and 11 supports the Congress.”
Pointing out that the youths’ “support for the BJP is coming essentially from the party’s core constituency – upper castes and a section of Hindu OBCs”, the study states, “There is sectional support for the Congress among the youth”, especially “among Adivasis and Muslims”
“Close to a quarter of Muslim respondents (24%) said that they supported the Congress party”, the study says, adding, “These are essentially Muslims residing in states which witness a direct competition between the Congress and the BJP”.
The study, interestingly, finds a huge variation on the tangled issue of beef eating in India among youths supporting different political parties. Thus, it says, “Quite interestingly, supporters of Left parties were highly liberal with respect to this matter. Ninety percent of them have no problems with beef consumption.”
It adds, “Supporters of regional parties and the Congress party were relatively less liberal (50% and 40%, respectively) on this matter. AAP and BJP supporting youth were least liberal (35% and 23%, respectively).”

Regretting that just 46% of youths have “no interest at all in politics”, the study, however, says, “Interest in politics among the youth has steadily risen. In 1996, 37 percent youth had interest in politics. Especially in the last seven years, there has been a substantial increase.”
Ironically, however, the study finds, there was a deceleration in participation in protests among the youth since 2013. It says, in 2011, only 12% youth said that they had taken part in a protest or demonstration. This increased to 24% in 2013, but went down to 15% in 2016.

Comments

Plastic burning in homes threatens food, water and air across Global South: Study

By Jag Jivan In a groundbreaking study spanning 26 countries across the Global South , researchers have uncovered the widespread and concerning practice of households burning plastic waste as a fuel for cooking, heating, and other domestic needs. The research, published in Nature Communications , reveals that this hazardous method of managing both waste and energy poverty is driven by systemic failures in municipal services and the unaffordability of clean alternatives, posing severe risks to human health and the environment.

Economic superpower’s social failure? Inequality, malnutrition and crisis of India's democracy

By Vikas Meshram India may be celebrated as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, but a closer look at who benefits from that growth tells a starkly different story. The recently released World Inequality Report 2026 lays bare a country sharply divided by wealth, privilege and power. According to the report, nearly 65 percent of India’s total wealth is owned by the richest 10 percent of its population, while the bottom half of the country controls barely 6.4 percent. The top one percent—around 14 million people—holds more than 40 percent, the highest concentration since 1961. Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate is a dismal 15.7 percent.

The greatest threat to our food system: The aggressive push for GM crops

By Bharat Dogra Thanks to the courageous resistance of several leading scientists who continue to speak the truth despite increasing pressures from the powerful GM crop and GM food lobby , the many-sided and in some contexts irreversible environmental and health impacts of GM foods and crops, as well as the highly disruptive effects of this technology on farmers, are widely known today.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Stands 'exposed': Cavalier attitude towards rushed construction of Char Dham project

By Bharat Dogra* The nation heaved a big sigh of relief when the 41 workers trapped in the under-construction Silkyara-Barkot tunnel (Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand) were finally rescued on November 28 after a 17-day rescue effort. All those involved in the rescue effort deserve a big thanks of the entire country. The government deserves appreciation for providing all-round support.

'Restructuring' Sahitya Akademi: Is the ‘Gujarat model’ reaching Delhi?

By Prakash N. Shah* A fortnight and a few days have slipped past that grim event. It was as if the wedding preparations were complete and the groom’s face was about to be unveiled behind the ceremonial tinsel. At 3 PM on December 18, a press conference was poised to announce the Sahitya Akademi Awards .

The war on junk food: Why India must adopt global warning labels

By Jag Jivan The global health landscape is witnessing a decisive shift toward aggressive regulation of the food industry, a movement highlighted by two significant policy developments shared by Dr. Arun Gupta of the Nutrition Advocacy for Public Interest (NAPi).

The illusion of nuclear abundance: Why NTPC’s expansion demands public scrutiny

By Shankar Sharma* The recent news that NTPC is scouting 30 potential sites across India for a massive nuclear power expansion should be a wake-up call for every citizen. While the state-owned utility frames this as a bold stride toward a 100,000 MW nuclear capacity by 2047, a cold look at India’s nuclear saga over the last few decades suggests this ambition may be more illusory than achievable. More importantly, it carries implications that could fundamentally alter the safety, environment, and economic health of our communities.

Madhav Gadgil: The ecologist who taught India to listen to nature

By Raj Kumar Sinha* Among the exceptional individuals who laid the intellectual and scientific foundations of environmental conservation in India—and challenged the dominant development discourse—Professor Madhav Dhondo Keshav Gadgil stands as a towering figure. He was not only a pioneering ecologist, but also among the first to view environmental protection through the lens of democracy, local communities and social justice.

Search This Blog