Over 12 lakh youth expected to exercise franchise for first time in 2019 LS polls

Of the 14.40 crore electorate in Uttar Pradesh, over 12 lakh youth are expected to exercise their franchise for the first time in the upcoming Lok Sabha election. "Names of 12,36,000 voters have been added to the electoral roll in the state. Voters in the age-group of 18-19 is 16.75 lakh. The total number of voters in the state is 14.40 crore," UP's chief electoral officer L Venkateshwar Lu said.

Parties have been trying to woo this segment in the politically crucial state which sends 80 MPs to the Lok Sabha. The BJP's youth wing, the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had last month launched a drive across the country to reach out to first-time voters. The exercise came following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to the BJP to connect with those born in this millennium as they would get voting rights from this year. The saffron party had won 71 out of 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh in 2014 Lok Sabha polls securing 42.63 per cent of the votes.

BJP's ally the Apna Dal bagged two seats. Samajwadi Party won five seats with a vote share of 22.35 per cent while the BSP did not win any seat but secured 19.77 per cent votes. In the last general elections, the Congress had registered wins on two seats in the state, bagging just 7.53 per cent of the votes.

(With inputs from agencies.)