To understand the Voting Behavior of the Urban Youth (India)

TYBBA C - GROUP 6
Arveen Shaheel C007
Dhawal Pasad C011
Jasmeet Kaur Dhillon C017
Rabani Kharbanda C034
Surbhi Mehta C045

2

CONTENTS
Particulars Page Number
Acknowledgement 3
Executive Summary 4
Introduction 5
Methodology 7
Limitations 8
Results/Findings 9
Conclusion & Recommendations 40
Bibliography 41
Appendix 42

3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We sincerely thank ASM-SOC of NMIMS Deemed-to-be University for giving us an
opportunity to conduct and prepare a research project. The project gave us immense field
knowledge through both primary and secondary research.
We would like to thank Mr. Kamlesh Kedarnath Rai, Councillor, K/E Ward for giving us the
opportunity to interact with him and help us understand our topic in an enhanced manner.
Further, we would like to thank our professor, Ms. Pallavi Rallan, for her guidance and
invaluable inputs that helped steer our project in the right direction.

Thank you.

4

Executive Summary
With India going into elections in 2014, there’s been a constant buzz and unavoidable
conversations about Politics. People have shifted from indifference & resentment towards
Politics, to talking about the subject & finally finding solutions. With majority of Indians
comprising of the Youth, we believed they held the key to unlocking the future of Politics, &
their thought process is one, that no longer can the Political Parties ignore.
It’s this idea that inspired us to go ahead with our research which is- “To understand the Voting
Behavior of the Urban Youth”. We understood Politics is something personal, and talking about
it & revealing ones real intentions may not be easy. Hence, whatever findings from the survey
have been received are compared & correlated with past/secondary data. Also, to make a
questionnaire on politics and what influences ones thinking about it is not exhaustive. Hence, to
create the questionnaire, we first had in-depth interviews with the Youth, to try and gauge the
factors that influence one’s vote, and make the questions exhaustive in nature. Thereby, creating
a questionnaire with questions that will be close ended, so that statistical tools can be applied to
it.
After obtaining the results, we were aware the results might hold biases & politically correct
answers that may not reveal their true intentions. Hence, it was compared with secondary data to
verify the application of our findings in the real world. And, to also get a more holistic picture,
we have spoken to an expert from the field who provided us information from his vast
experience and knowledge, regarding this complex field.
The intention of the research is to find the factors that influence the vote of the urban youth, &
whether the urban youth exercise their right to vote.

5

Introduction
India is known to the world as the Largest Democracy. It comprises of 28 different states, each
with its own unique characteristic. It’s also known for its vast diversity, and being home to
different religions, making it a truly remarkable country on the World Map.
With such diversity, and various contradicting viewpoints existing in the Indian Society, it’s
noting to see how the country chooses its Leader. A Leader who can maintain this balance in
diversity, and at the same time, satisfy the growing aspirations and needs of this young ambitious
nation.
With the median age of young India being 26.21
, & rapid urbanization taking place across India,
We’re witnessing a new India. These winds of change & peculiar characteristics of India and its
people inspired us to understand the thought process of the urban youth when they decide to cast
their vote.

1

http://mg.co.za/article/2013-‐04-‐19-‐00-‐india-‐the-‐worlds-‐largest-‐democracy

6

Research Problem
Hence, we wanted to investigate on –
“To understand the Voting Behavior of The Urban Youth”
Source of Research Problem
Brainstorming amongst the group & being exposed to extensive Political updates from News &
Conversations (Daily Experience) helped us choose the research problem
Research Objective:
1. Factors influencing the vote of the urban youth
2. Choice between Political party v/s Individual Leader
3. Activities of political party influencing voting behavior (past history, current activities, events
etc.)
4. Biased/Unbiased behavior towards casting a vote (caste, creed, religion, family values,
opinion of peers etc.)
5. Reflection of youth's behavior on the final outcome
Criteria for selecting the Problem
• Internal Factors: Researcher’s Interest
• External Factors: Social Relevance

7

Methodology
Research Design:
We have adopted two designs in moving forward with this research.
Exploratory Research to understand the various possible factors that may influence the Urban
Youths’ choice of voting. And Descriptive Research to understand "What" is the behavior of the
Urban Youth towards voting by analyzing the factors that we had noted in our Exploratory
Research.
Data Collection Method:
For the purpose of data collection both secondary data and primary data have been used.
Secondary data is collected from an interview with Mr. Kamlesh Rai and various online political
forums, articles from newspapers and magazines, blogs, past political results etc.
Primary data has been collected in the form of a survey comprising of a detailed questionnaire,
which has been filled by a sample population comprising of urban youth.
Population:
Youth population (age group 18-25) of Mumbai are surveyed
Sampling Method:
Sample was chosen through Deliberate Sampling.
Sample Size:
100 for survey; 1 for qualitative research
Questionnaire Design:
The questionnaire design used here is Structured and Non-disguised as a fixed set of questions
are asked to every respondent and the respondent is aware about the purpose of the research. The
questions are structured to obtain facts and are asked in a prearranged order.

8

Limitations:
The limitations to the research are as follows:
• The sample for our survey is restricted to individuals ranging from 18 years to 25 years as
the research tries to study the behavior of the youth.
• The sample for our survey just targets youth of Mumbai, which might not match with the
results of the entire urban youth if considered.
• The research has been conducted in a time frame of 10 days, which does not take into
account the change in behavior of the urban youth.
• The number of respondents is restricted to 112 due to ease and simplicity of analysis.
• The responses we received in our survey cannot be held true to the word as, politics is a
sensitive topic and answers can be manipulated or lack honesty.
• Getting detailed information for our secondary research was difficult.

9

RESULTS/FINDINGS
Demographics/Sample:
Analysis:
We have begun the Questionnaire with the primary question of –
Q1. Do you have a Voter ID card?

10

An important aspect about this Research Topic is that whatever findings we have collected of the
Voting Behavior & the factors that influence it, it will hold no value in the real world, if these
don’t convert to Votes on the day of the elections.
For the purpose of it to convert to Votes, the Urban Youth must possess a Voter’s ID card. This
question acts as a first step to understanding the characteristics & impact of our population on
Indian Politics.
From the results, it is observed that 60% of the Youth don’t possess a Voter ID, hence
disqualifying them from casting a vote. And, only 40% possess the Voter ID.
Questions that follow will probe further & help answering the reasons of why we observe this
trend.
If the respondent’s answer to Q1. - No.
Q2. Why don't you have a Voter ID card?
This question deals with finding the probable reasons of Why the Urban youth doesn’t have a
Voter ID card with them.

11

From the results, it can be observed that there are 2 choices that are the most recurring. They are:
1. Your Application is in Process – This is an encouraging number to see, as it shows the
Urban Youth are taking the first step towards exercising their right to Vote. It also gives
more importance to our research findings, as the opinions we have recorded have a higher
probability of getting exercised in the Real World.
A high number of responses for “Application in Process” can also be attributed to the fact
that, The Lok Sabha Elections are scheduled to take place next year – 2014, & with
Election Drives & awareness being created during this period, a lot of people Apply for
their Voter’s ID.
2. Too Lazy to Apply/Process is Cumbersome – This is another factor that the Urban Youth
believe is the reason for not having a Voter ID. The responses shows the Youth don’t
prioritize/value their right to Vote, as they believe the work towards obtaining a Card is
an obstacle.
However, on further investigation by doing Secondary Research it can be seen that
obtaining a Voter ID card may not seem like so much of a cumbersome process. The
image shown below explains the process of obtaining a Voter ID.
2
This shows that the process is simple and requires very minimal work from the Voter’s part.
Also, considering our population to be the Urban Youth, requiring the access to a cellphone and
internet, doesn’t justify terming the process as “cumbersome”.

2

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/1048790.aspx

12

One can’t take this reason on face value. It could be attributed to a general indifference and/or
laziness on behalf of the Voter rather than the process being Cumbersome.
However, in many developed countries, the process is much more efficient. For e.g.
In Denmark, All citizens and residents of Denmark are included in the national register, Det
Centrale Personregister. CPR is a Danish nationwide centralized register of personal information;
where each person is assigned a personal number of ten digits that include the person's date of
birth. The register is used for tax lists, voter lists, and membership in the universal health care
system, official record of residence and other purposes. All eligible voters receive a card in the
mail before each election, which shows the date, time and local polling place.3
Probably, when & if India can adopt such a system, it can expect better Voter Turnouts.
Interaction with the councillor
He mentioned that, a few weeks before every election, representatives of the election
commission visit houses with an updated list of individuals including those who recently turned
18, informing them to make their Voter ID. They give you a requisite form to fill up and along
with photocopies of your documents and you will receive your Voter ID card at home.
If the respondent’s answer to Q1. – No.
Q3. Given a situation of you having a Voter ID, Would you cast your Vote on the day of the
Elections?

3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_registration#Denmark

13

The results show encouraging numbers with a turnout of 89% on the day of the elections if they
had a Voter ID card. This is a good response, and should incentive the stakeholders of the Voting
process (Election Commission, Political Parties etc.) to empower the Urban Youth by providing
them Voter ID cards. Addressing the responses from the previous question of - Why they don’t
have a Voter ID card, can solve this.
However, it should be carefully judged that these responses may be given to save-face &/or
answered to be politically correct. Voting or not will depend on how the person may feel on that
day, which is extremely erratic to measure.

14

If the respondent’s answer to Q1. – Yes.
Q4.
Would
you
cast
your
Vote
on
the
day
of
the
Elections?
The result here again shows encouraging numbers with a turnout of 89% on the day of the
elections from the sample that already have a Voter ID card. It’s only apt to compare this turnout
% with the past data. It must be noted that the % of voter turn out of youth & adult is not
available separately. However, if we compare the All India Voter turn out, which is between 56-
58%, the response we have obtained seems to contradict it. Even if we assume the result from
our survey is for the Urban youth, such a large difference doesn’t seem possible.
4
Therefore, this response should not be taken on face value, & may be given to save-face &/or
answered to be politically correct. Voting or not will depend on how the person may feel on that
day, which is extremely erratic to measure.

4

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-‐06-‐03/news/28460398_1_voter-‐turnout-‐poor-‐turnout-‐
middle-‐class

15

If the respondent’s answer to Q3 or Q4. - No.
Q5. Why would you not Vote on the day of the Elections?
This question is to analyze if they have a Voter ID or are given a situation they do, and still
decide not to vote- What’s the reason for this behavior.
“Other” needs to be ignored, as these were invalid responses. As, most of the responses said
they would Vote, we have a small size of the sample saying they won’t Vote, hence to make an
accurate interpretation of the response from the above graph would not provide the correct
picture. However, one can say, due to being located in a different city as compared to the city in
which they can vote is one of the strong reasons.

16

This section of the analysis deals with the influence Political Events have on the Voter’s
choice. The first question apt would be to understanding our sample’s exposure to Political
Events. Hence the question asked,
Q6. Have you attended any Event of a Political Party?
The above graph indicates that majority of our sample have not attended Events organized by
Political Parties. This cannot be generalized for the entire urban youth as our sample has been
primarily from Mumbai. In certain cities like Delhi & other areas in North India we may have
obtained different results. Questions below further analyze this behavior with respect to the
responses we have received.

17

If the respondent’s answer to Q6. – No.

Q7.
Why
have
you
not
attended
any
Political
Event?
This question investigates the reasons for our sample to not attend Political Events. The
responses show that a large section of our sample have not attended because, they are unaware of
Political Events.
The councillor believes not all are interested in politics/political events. Parties do organize
political events targeting the youth. In K/E Ward, “Andheri Mahotsav” is organized to create a
platform for students where they get to interact with industry experts and gather immense
knowledge. Promotions for such political events are done through banners, hoardings, pamphlets
and most importantly through word of mouth.

18

5
6
There have been countless Political Events all across the India. However, because most of our
responses are from the youth of Mumbai, above are some rallies that have taken place in the
City.
Our secondary research hence shows, it’s not the not-conducting-of-rallies that is the reason, but
a lack of communication from the Political Parties to the youth of these rallies that results in
most of the Youth not attending Political Events. Also, the fact that the Media extensively covers
these Political Events/Rallies, which can be viewed from Home without the hassles of going to
the location in the middle of a lot of crowd, seems like a better option for the youth. This is also
observed in our response, as the second highest responses corresponds to it.
We can observe in our responses that people believe it’ll be ineffective and won’t influence your
vote. This can be correlated to the standard format in the manner of which these events are
conducted (involving a speech, plans, and a plea for voters to vote for the party).

5

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Politicians_campaing_in_Mumbai_-‐_Flickr_-‐_Al_Jazeera_English.jpg

6

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-‐08-‐21/mumbai/33301827_1_mns-‐activists-‐raj-‐thackeray-‐
maharashtra-‐navnirman-‐sena

19

Recently, many political parties have understood these responses/perceptions of the youth and
have modified their campaign accordingly.
7
With the Youth being more technologically advanced and being a part of the ‘Instant’
generation, Political parties, recently, have started connecting with the youth on the platform the
Youth prefers i.e. Social Media; & are moving away from the conventional Rallies/Speeches.
8

7

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/narendra-‐modi-‐rock-‐concert-‐in-‐delhi-‐for-‐prime-‐minister-‐post/1/271511.html

8

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-‐12-‐09/india/44988373_1_bogus-‐voters-‐new-‐voters-‐electoral-‐
participation

20

Q9. What type of Event(s) have you attended?
Q10. Did attending the Political Event(s) influence your vote?
Mean:
2.33

Standard
Deviation:
1.23

21

These responses are of the Sample who have attended Political events. There are two aspects to
this:
• What type of Event they have attended (1st
Aspect)
• Did attending the event influence their vote (2nd
Aspect)
As we can see, the people who have attended are low in number, & hence to analyze this data
may not lead to an accurate conclusion.
In general, we can conclude that both the Medium used by the Party to interact – 1st
Aspect, and
the effectiveness of this medium – 2nd
Aspect is not effective. An average of 2.33 on 5 is the
impact of Political Events on deciding the Youth’s vote. For the youth to engage and listen to the
Political Parties, they must come up with better Mediums & effectiveness of the same to ensure
an active engagement.

22

Q11. Does the History of a Political Party affect Your Vote?
As per our research we have a neutral response from the sample and so does our analysis.
Lets look at the 1984 riots where approximately 8000 Sikhs were killed out of which around
3000 were from Delhi. Congress was the main master mind behind this movement.
Another case we can take is the Gujarat riots, 2002. This was against the minority (Muslims) and
it is claimed that Narendra Modi (BJP) was behind this massacre.
But when we look at the current scenario Narendra Modi (BJP) has been winning Gujarat
elections whereas, Sheila Dixit (Congress) has served a term of 15 years in Delhi.
If we look at the current State polls, BJP has won in all 4 states in the name of Narendra Modi.
This indicates that people have a very short memory and do not look at the history to a great
extent.
We can observe that, after serving a term of 15 years, Sheila Dixit lost the seat to Kejriwal (Aam
Aadmi Party) & Congress lost majority of seats to BJP in Rajasthan.
There could be many reasons like Delhi was awaiting a corrupt free leader or another party who
is better than congress. Or we can say that today’s generation is concerned more about the
development of the country, observing the way Modi has developed Gujarat.
Hence, we can conclude that it is the recent past that matters.
Yes, history definitely matters but recent actions also matter equally.
Today’s youth believes in quick action, quick decision. If you do not take care of current issues
that come up recently you will not be able to win a vote. People are more aware of what is
happening currently and make their decisions with current activities keeping the past in mind.
Mean:
3.12

Standard
Deviation:
1.30

23

Q12. Considering you like a particular party/leader on the National Scale, would you still
vote for their local representative even if the representative were not the ideal choice for
your area?
This question helps to understand the Voter’s preference, whether they vote on Macro (Country-
related) or Micro (Area- related) factors.
From our findings, it’s evident, by a large margin, that people give higher importance to Micro
factors. It is difficult to conform our findings with secondary data, as Congress winning in 2009
elections doesn’t ensure all of its fielded candidates get elected. Hence, examples for each of the
factors exist, and an accurate conclusion cannot be drawn.
A limitation to this question is the manner in which it’s framed, & also the assumption of the
Voters interaction with a Local Representative and having the knowledge of his actions. On face
value it’s evident, people will vote for something that will give them personal benefits, as seen in
our findings too.
The amount work done by a candidate matters more than anything to the public. But it is
considered important that the party to which your leader belongs to wins the maximum votes, as
that is interlinked to your say in the government.
To perform activities for the betterment of the society, one of the major things that you need
funds. If your party has not formed a government, you will not have a higher say in policy
making which will affect your plans, your funding and then your work for the society.

24

Q13. Which Political Ideology do you support?
This question relates to the political ideology preferred by the Sample. A conscious choice of
avoiding an option – “Mix of Capitalism & Socialism” is done; as the purpose of this question
was to observe what the Sample inclines towards.
From the response, we notice the ideologies that are on each extreme ends of the scale –
Capitalism & Communism receive the highest preference and have the same number of
responses.

25

9
This truly reflects the diversity of the Country, & how it’s difficult to strike the right balance.
Both of these leaders are popular and have an impeccable track record.
It’s difficult to verify the data, and to check which ideology has worked because many Political
Parties follow a mixed ideology, for example:
• Under Congress’ rule the FDI Bill has been passed – Capitalist Characteristic
• The same party has also passed the Right to Food Law – Populist/Communist
Characteristic
& Each of these is well received by their respective audiences that prefer it (which our research
shows are equal in number). However, linking this to the last question where
Growth/Development being a key area which can ideally be achieved by Capitalism is slowly
taking the trend. This is also proved by the rising Popularity of Narendra Modi who has been
Capitalist oriented.
10

9

http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/DEL-‐nitish-‐kumar-‐socialism-‐vs-‐narendra-‐modi-‐capitalism-‐a-‐fight-‐within-‐nda-‐
4211118-‐NOR.html

10

http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-‐news/allaboutnarendramodi/capitalist-‐hero-‐how-‐modi-‐made-‐reforms-‐
work-‐for-‐gujaratis/article1-‐953137.aspx

26

Q14. What influences Your Vote more?
The findings of the research show a minimal gap between the above two choices.
Analyzing the secondary data, we have observed certain cases to correlate our findings.
1. Raj Thackeray who initially was a part of Shiv Sena quit, and formed his own party -
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena. Taking many other members along with him, he formed a party,
which till some extent was a successful one.
We can see this from the results of General elections 2009: Mumbai North.

27

From the above results we see that MNS has secured a second position leaving behind the former
party Shiv Sena. It proves that Voters in this case have voted for the party where the leader joins
after quitting.
2. With excessive rise of scams in the country, the people have lost faith in the
government. To cure this prevailing problem of the country, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wants the
approval of the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has a vision to create a corruption-free India. The recent Delhi
elections have shown that people believe in AAP’s vision and ideology, and are hence, voting for
them even though it’s their debut elections.

11
These two stands contradict each other, & leave ambiguity on whether the urban youth votes for
the Leader or Ideology of the Party.
To confirm that there’s an ambiguity, we had asked the below Situational question, and as
expected, we got an answer that gives no clear indication of their preference.
Q15. Given a Situation where the Political Leader of your preferred party – ‘A’, quits the
said party and joins another Political Party – ‘B’, you would?

11

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131216/news-‐politics/article/modi-‐wave-‐no-‐it’s-‐aap-‐tsunami?page=3

28

Q16. Do the Allies/Coalitions of a Political Party/Leader influence Your vote?
The mean of the response shows a Value close to 3. This indicates that this does play a Factor in
a person’s preference of a Party, however it may not be a deciding factor.
There have been many successful and unsuccessful coalitions.
Like, BJP and JMM (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) had a coalition but it was not successful. Arjun
Munda claims that it had a lot of power struggle, lack of co-ordination among coalition partners,
etc.
There have been successful coalitions also, like UPA where parties like Congress, NCP,
Rashtriya Lok Dal, Indian Union Muslim Dal etc. who are in power for almost 10 years.
Thus there have been successful and unsuccessful coalitions.
These Coalitions are created out of Political necessities. They’ll affect the youth’s perception of
the party, however but as seen from the mean of our responses, it’s not a deciding factor; &
hence, unless the Party allies with a contradicting ideology, Political Parties dictate coalitions
based on Political necessities.
It is more of a need in today’s society. With various different parties/ideologies, it is even
difficult for a party to form a coalition. Differences arise among coalition parties
Currently the situation is Delhi is awful, as the congress government knows that conducting a re-
election in Delhi will cost crores of rupees, which can be put to some other use. So the Congress
is even ready to form a coalition with AAP agreeing to all their terms and conditions.
Mean:
2.93

Standard
Deviation:
1.09

29

Q17. Do You/Your family/Your friends have any associations with your preferred Political
Party/Leader?
This question helps in understanding the quality of our sample. Having ‘close associations’ with
Political Parties will give us biased responses. However, ‘close’ would be a subjective term,
hence it was avoided.
81% of the respondents don’t have political associations, which indicates a good sample,
however, it will still be subject to some error.

30

Q18. Does Your Internal Environment (i.e. Upbringing/Family values/Peers) influence your
decision of whom to vote?
A candidate, who is approachable and ready to help, most influences a person’s decision to vote.
Caste/Creed does matter to some extent but it is most prevalent in rural areas with a more
uneducated audience.
Apart from a person’s caste, his area of residence/upbringing matters to a high extent. If a
candidate belongs to a particular region, we will end up getting more votes on the basis of
favoritism and won’t have much of an impact of cast/creed.
Mean:
2.57

Standard
Deviation:
1.32

31

Q19. Do Media Reports and Debates influence your choice of voting?
Media plays an important role in exposing to the public the truth behind various scams through
its reports/ debates.
In 2003, Adarsh Cooperative Housing Society Scam was unearthed by the Indian Express.
Over a period of ten years, top politicians, bureaucrats and military officers proceeded to bend
several rules and perpetrate various acts of omission and commission in order to have the
building constructed and then get themselves allotted flats in this premier property at artificially
lowered prices.
Then Chief Minister, Ashok Chavan was accused of nepotism when he gave two flats in the
Adarsh Housing society in Colaba to some of his close relatives, the society was originally meant
for war widows. Chavan was summoned to Delhi where he offered to resign before party chief
Sonia Gandhi.12
Here we can see how much a media expose has impacted a party; they asked a Chief Minister to
resign, understanding what such a report will have a negative impact on the image of the party.
According to the councillor, Media reports have a lot of impact on voters. A tiny bit of rumor can
collapse a government.
Media reports have a lot of impact on voters. A tiny bit of rumor can collapse a government.

12

http://mediashame.blogspot.in/2010/11/adarsh-‐scam-‐whose-‐expose-‐is-‐it-‐anyway.html
Mean:
3.43

Standard
Deviation:
1.02

32

Q20. The stands the Political Party/Leader takes on Economic/Social/Environmental issues
impact the personal biases you hold of the preferred Party?
The responses give a mean value of 3.4, hence denoting that this does influence the Voting
preferences to an extent.
Political Parties also consider this an important factor; a quote from an article best describes how
one of India’s major political party controls this factor.
“Rahul is learnt to have asked how the party decides the names of those leaders, who represent
Congress on various television channels. After Rahul's interaction was over, Congress general
secretary Janardan Dwivedi briefed the new spokespersons about the do's and don'ts during
media briefing.”13

13

http://www.firstpost.com/politics/rahul-‐gandhi-‐interacts-‐with-‐new-‐cong-‐spokespersons-‐768535.html

Mean:
3.4

Standard
Deviation:
1.172

33

Q21. Do the Future Promises made during Speeches/mentioned in the Manifesto impact
your choice of Party/Leader to vote?

The respondents have given a low influence on the scale with the mean at 2.73. This could be
because the Youth gives more importance on the fulfillment of the promises rather than the
Promises itself. The anti-Congress wave in the country (as seen by exit poll results) is proof of
this, where people believe the Current party has not lived up to its promises.
Future promises made in a parties manifesto have the maximum impact on a person’s decision to
vote. At least 75% of the promises should be fulfilled by the party.
It is not very easily possible to do so. Funds available are most important in this case. It requires
crores of rupees to complete certain procedures to fulfill a promise, implementation escalates the
cost further. You submit an application in the legal cell, make a change in certain laws, and pass
through all procedures; all this can take up to 4 years. Within another year elections are
conducted again. And certain policies fail in this process.
Mean:
2.73

Standard
Deviation:
1.11

34

Q22.
Does
the
Educational
background
of
a
Political
Leader
influence
Your
choice
of
vote?
The above result tells us that the educational background of the leaders does influence the voting
behavior. To verify this, we have first analyzed the Educational Background of leaders who have
been elected in the past.
Mean:
3.82

Standard
Deviation:
1.15

35

The Educational Background of elected politicians conforms to our findings.
However, having a good educational background may not ensure success of the Leader.
The rising anti-congress wave in the nation is proof to this. And the news clip below perfectly
highlights the same.
People will give preference to their leadership skills rather than just their education background.
A well-educated leader who fails to prove his leadership qualities will not get re-elected.
Q23. Does the Social background (Religion, Economic Status) of a Political Leader
influence your choice of vote?
It first has an impact on the leader himself and then on the people. If a person is well
educated/decently brought up, he/she will know what to say/what not to say to convince the
voters.
Mean:
2.15

Standard
Deviation:
1.18

37

Hypothesis Testing14
Step 1:
H0 – The proportion obtained for Corruption/Scam free is the same as the proportion for Current
activities.
H1 – The proportion obtained for Corruption/Scam free is not the same as the proportion for
Current activities.
Step 2:
Level of Significance = 10%; hence Z value = 1.645

14

http://www.statisticslectures.com/topics/ztestproportions/

38

Step 3:
Hence for the above p^ is =
!" ! !!
!"" ! !""
= 0.515
Therefore,
Z =
!.!"!!.!!
!.!"!(!!!.!"!) !
!
!""
!
!
!""
= 1.84
This Z value is greater than the defined 1.645. Hence, we accept Alternative Hypothesis.
Similarly, we do another Hypothesis to compare:
H0 – The proportion obtained for Growth/Development of the country is the same as the
proportion for Corruption/Scam free.
H1 – The proportion obtained for Growth/Development of the country is not the same as the
proportion for Corruption/Scam free.
Following the above steps, we get:
p^ is =
!" ! !"
!"" ! !""
= 0.76
Z =
!.!"!!.!"
!.!"(!!!.!") !
!
!""
!
!
!""
= 0.83
This value is less than our defined Z of 1.645. Hence, the Null Hypothesis is accepted.
Hence from Hypothesis Testing we can conclude, Growth/Development of the Country &
Corruption/Scam free are the two most important factors considering 10% Level of
Significance.

39

Scam- When you do a large amount of work, you might make mistakes, to learn from your
mistakes is what will help make the country corruption free.
All parties work towards the unity of all sections of the society.
Growth/Development of the country is very important but the price that we pay for this should
not be very high.
We can maintain minimal growth of around 4% without making the economy suffer too much.
At the end of the day, a local person doesn’t care about the economy but he cares about how
much he can buy with a certain amount of money.

40

Conclusion
Our research was set out to gauge the Voting Behavior of the youth. To a large extent, we have
been successful in decoding the Youth’s voting behavior.
The stakeholders of the Voting Process need to stand up and take note of this Target Audience if
they want to gain an edge over the others & sustain in the future. Though the Youth is impacted
& influenced by various factors, they take informed decisions. They’re more open to ideas &
thoughts, and are willing to form/change their opinions. Making not just the audience dynamic in
thought, but forcing the Political sphere to adopt this dynamism.
The findings from our research truly depict this. However, this dynamism displayed by both the
Political sphere & the mindset of the Youth, imply that the data we have collected today, may
not hold value on a future date.
Recommendations
After conducting this research we have been able to understand the voting behavior of the urban
youth. We have come up with a few recommendations which we feel can help the nation as a
whole to have a better-enlightened youth population for selecting the leaders of our country.
• The politicians in India need to shift their attention to the urban youth for gaining
support. Their rallies and events do not concentrate on the youth which if done can help
them to a large extent.
• The urban youth today can’t be influenced by false promises. They wish to see results,
which should replicate the promises made. Thus the political parties need to start giving
quality results and work towards the development of the country.
People
are
driven
by
a

vision
and
not
promises
made.
• The major reason for the youth not voting is the cumbersome process for making a voting
card. We need a speedy and easy process to be implemented and not just made.
• The need of the hour is a corruption free country, which will surely increase the urban
youth voters’ turnout. If we want our urban youth to participate fully we need to provide
them with a scam free government.

41

Bibliography
Web Links:
http://mg.co.za

http://www.hindustantimes.com

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com

http://commons.wikimedia.org

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com

http://indiatoday.intoday.in

http://daily.bhaskar.com

http://www.deccanchronicle.com

http://www.firstpost.com

http://www.statisticslectures.com
http://mediashame.blogspot.in

42

APPENDIX
Questionnaire – Urban Youth (Quantitative):
In certain questions, you may feel more than 1 option applying for you. In such cases, please
select the most important factor.
1. Age
2. Gender
3. Religion
4. Caste
5. Native State/Place
6. Do you have a Voter’s ID?
a. YES
b. NO
7. If No – Why don’t you have a Voter’s ID?
a. Your Application is in Process
b. Under-Age
c. Too Lazy to apply/The Process is Cumbersome
d. Not interested in Politics
e. Don’t have the necessary Documents to apply for a Voter’s ID
f. Unaware of the Procedure
g. Others:
8. Given the situation you having a Voter’s ID, Would you cast your Vote?
a. YES
b. NO
9. If No – Why don’t you Vote?
a. Too lazy; Don’t want to ruin a Holiday to Vote
b. You believe your Vote won’t matter
c. You treat Voter’s ID as just an Identification Proof
d. No liking towards the Representatives/Parties in your area
e. No faith/resentment towards Politics in India
f. Others:

43

10. Have you attended any Event of a Political Party?
a. YES
b. NO
11. If No – Why have you not attended any Political Event?
a. Too lazy
b. Ineffective/You believe the event will not impact your choice
c. Not accessible/Location problems
d. No faith/resentment towards Politics in India
e. Media reports is adequate; physical presence not required
f. Others:
12. If Yes – What type of an event have you attended?
a. Rallies
b. Manifesto Distribution
c. Open Discussions
d. Meetings
e. Festival Celebrations
f. Others:
13. Did attending the Political Event influence your Vote?
a. YES
b. NO
14. Do the Past/Historic actions of a Political Party affect your Vote?
a. YES
b. NO – only the Present & Future matter.
15. Which Political Ideology do you support?
a. Anarchism (The belief that the best government is absolutely no government)
b. Autocracy (Supreme political power is in the hands of one person whose decision
are unregulated)
c. Capitalism (Principle means of production and distribution are in private hands)
d. Communism (All means of production are controlled by the state. Each should
work to their capability and receive according to their needs)
e. Populism (Ideologies which demand the redistribution of political power and
economic leadership to the 'common people')
f. Socialism (principle means of production, distribution and exchange are in
common ownership)
g. Others:

44

16. Considering you like a particular party/leader on the National Scale, would you still vote
for their local representative even if the representative is not the ideal choice for your
area?
a. YES – Vote for Local Representative of the preferred Party
b. NO – Vote for the Representative who’s best for your Area
17. What influences your Vote more?
a. Beliefs/Ideals of a Political Party
b. Leader of a Political Party
18. Do the Allies/Coalitions of a Political Party/Leader influence your vote?
a. YES
b. NO
19. Do you/your family/your friends have any associations with your preferred Political
Party/Leader?
a. YES
b. NO
20. Does your Internal Environment (i.e. Upbringing/Family values/Peers) influence your
decision of whom to vote?
a. YES
b. NO
21. Media Reports and Debates influence your choice of voting?
a. YES
b. NO
22. Given a Situation where the Political Leader of your preferred party – ‘A’, quits the said
party and joins another Political Party – ‘B’, you would?
a. Vote for the ‘A’ Party (The Leader’s first party)
b. Vote for the party where the Leader Joins after quitting – ‘B’ Party
c. Vote for a third-party/Abstain
d. Don’t Know
23. The stands the Political Party/Leader take on Economic/Social/Environment issues
impact the personal biases you hold of the preferred Party?
a. YES
b. NO

45

24. Do the Future Promises made during Speeches/mentioned in the Manifesto impact your
choice of Party to vote?
a. YES
b. NO
25. Does the Education background of a Political Leader influence your choice of vote?
a. YES
b. NO
26. Does the Social background (Religion, Economic Status) of a Political Leader influence
your choice of vote?
a. YES
b. NO
27. Below are mentioned some factors that may have an impact on you choosing whom to
vote for. Kindly rate the 3 most important factors that impact your choice of voting.
a. Corruption/Scam free
b. Unity of the Country
c. Growth/Development of the Country
d. Benefits you get from the Party coming into power
e. Current Activities of the Party/Leader
f. Future Promises of the Party/Leader
g. Allies of the Party/Leader
h. Political Ideology
i. Family/Peer Biases
j. Political Events
k. Media Reports
l. Past History of the Party
m. Others:

46

Questionnaire – Experts from the Political Sphere (Qualitative):
Q1. We conducted a survey targeting the youth, while trying to start with whether they have a
Voters ID, through our responses we found that many people who do not possess a Voter ID and
believe that the process is cumbersome. What do you suppose about this situation?
It is a simple process. Also, few weeks before every election, representatives of the election
commission visit houses with an updated list of individuals including those who recently turned
18, informing them to make their Voter ID. They give you a requisite form to fill up and along
with photocopies of your documents and you will receive your Voter ID card at home.
Q2. We asked questions about attendance in political events and found that most of them are
unaware of such events. Are political events targeting the youth conducted?
Not all are interested in politics/political events. Parties do organize political events targeting the
youth. In K/E Ward, “Andheri Mahotsav” is organized to create a platform for students where
they get to interact with industry experts, gather immense knowledge and promote the party.
Promotions for such political events are done through banners, hoardings, pamphlets and most
importantly through word of mouth.
Q3. How much does the history of a political party affect a person’s decision to cast a vote?
Does recent past matter more than history?
Yes, history definitely matters but recent actions also matter equally.
Congress has a history of fighting for the country, which lead to independence. Earlier, people
used to wait for 15-20 days to be able to interact with a political leader, address their issues. It is
a different era now. Everyone is closely linked and accessible.
Today’s youth believes in quick action, quick decision. If you do not take care of current issues
that come up recently you will not be able to win a vote. People are more aware of what is
happening currently and make their decisions with current activities keeping the past in mind.
Q4. Who do you think the youth votes for?
a) Local Representative of a preferred party
b) Representative who’s best for their area
The amount work done by a candidate matters more than anything to the public. But it is
considered important that the party to which your leader belongs to wins the maximum votes, as
that is interlinked to your say in the government.
To perform activities for the betterment of the society, one of the major things that you need is
funds. If your party has not formed a government, you will not have a higher say in policy
making which will affect your plans, your funding and then your work for the society.

47

Q5. What influences a vote more?
a) Beliefs/Ideals of a Political Party
b) Leader of a Political Party
Leader slightly matters more than beliefs. Implementing the belief is what is in the hands of the
leader.
Q6. AAP is considered to be winning due to their vision of a corruption-free India?
The face of AAP is Kejriwal, who is portrayed as a very honest person who knows the system
well. People believe that he can follow his beliefs and live up to expectations and therefore, he is
showered with votes.
Q7. Do allies/coalitions affect the votes in favor of a party?
Yes, allies/coalitions do impact.
But it is more of a need in today’s society. With various different parties/ideologies, it is even
difficult for a party to form a coalition. Differences arise among coalition parties
Currently the situation is Delhi is awful as the congress government knows that conducting a re-
election in Delhi will cost crores of rupees, which can be put to some other use. So the Congress
is even ready to form a coalition with AAP agreeing to all their terms and conditions.
Q8. Does the internal environment (caste, creed, upbringing, family values, peers) influences the
youths decision to cast a vote?
A candidate, who is approachable and ready to help, most influences a person’s decision to vote.
Caste/Creed does matter to some extent but it is most prevalent in rural areas with a more
uneducated audience.
Apart from a person’s caste, his area of residence/upbringing matters to a high extent. If a
candidate belongs to a particular region, we will end up getting more votes on the basis of
favoritism and won’t have much of an impact of cast/creed.
Q9. Do media reports impact the youths vote?
Media reports have a lot of impact on voters. A tiny bit of rumor can collapse a government.
It is only because of this that congress is losing now.

48

Q10. Do personal statements of a Party/Leader on Economic/Social/Environment issues impact
the youths vote?
Yes, they do have an impact but do not do a lot of damage. A candidate could lose out on around
5% of his votes not much.
Q11. Do the future promises made during speeches/mentioned in the manifesto impact the
youths vote?
Future promises made in a parties manifesto have the maximum impact on a person’s decision to
vote. At least 75% of the promises should be fulfilled by a party.
It is not very easily possible to do so. Funds available are most important in this case. It requires
crores of rupees to complete certain procedures to fulfill a promise, implementation escalates the
cost further. You submit an application in the legal cell, make a change in certain laws, and pass
through all procedures; all this can take up to 4 years. Within another year elections are
conducted again. And certain policies fail in this process.
Now, AAP has promised to cut down the electricity bill to 50%, make free water available, but
there is no way they can fulfill those promises. By making free water available, the government
will make an annual loss of 400 crores and with further cutting down the electricity bill they will
incur further losses. The law will not allow this to happen on an immediate basis.
Q12. Does the Educational/Social Background of a leader influence the youths vote?
It first has an impact on the leader himself and then on the people. If a person is well
educated/decently brought up, he/she will know what to say/what not to say to convince the
voters.
Q13. We asked our respondents to pick any three most important factors that impact their vote.
The options that received maximum votes are:
a) Corruption/Scam Free
b) Unity of the country
c) Growth/Development of the country
d) Future Promises of the Party/Leader
Scam- When you do a large amount of work, you might make mistakes, to learn from your
mistakes is what will help make the country corruption free. All parties work towards the unity
of all sections of the society.
Growth/Development of the country is very important but the price that we pay for this should
not be very high.
We can maintain minimal growth of around 4% without making the economy suffer too much.
At the end of the day, a local person doesn’t care about the economy but he cares about how
much he can buy with a certain amount of money.
As we just discussed, future promises should be made with a vision to materialize them.

To understand the Voting Behavior of the Urban Youth (India)

Recomendados

Recomendados

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Mais procurados (20)

Destaque

Destaque (10)

Semelhante a To understand the Voting Behavior of the Urban Youth (India)

Semelhante a To understand the Voting Behavior of the Urban Youth (India) (20)

Mais de Arveen Shaheel

Mais de Arveen Shaheel (9)

Último

Último (20)

To understand the Voting Behavior of the Urban Youth (India)