Some of the old faithful among Muslims and Kurmis and Brahmins may be returning to the Congress, but party leaders, not sure whether this will turn into votes, are looking for other options also.
Now, the party is focusing on the first time voters, the young and the not-so-young voters. Imran ul-Rehman Kidwai, chairman of the Congress minority cell, said: “The 18-year-old voter and also those below 40 years of age do not remember a Congress government. They only know the BJP, SP and BSP terms in office. They are disappointed with all of them.”
The rough estimate of these voters is around 12 million voters, and the number of new voters is around 3.5 million — over one-third of the voting population. The Congress hopes that it will corner at least one-third of these votes.
Kidwai, who is from Barabanki near Lucknow, said: “They will vote for the Congress. They are looking for an alternative. The Congress is new for them because they have not seen the party in power.”
So, will the young voters from among Muslims, Yadavs, Jats go for the Congress or will they follow the caste and community party line? Kidwai says that the young voter will not remain confined to the caste, community mould.
Is party general secretary Rahul Gandhi targeting this young segment? The answer is yes. But Congress leaders, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the preference for Congress goes beyond the Rahul factor. They do not want to emphasise that the party is depending on the charisma of the Congress first family to taste victory because they feel the need to argue that the Nehru-Gandhis are acceptable to the people not because of their aristocratic aura but because they have something politically sensible to offer to the common people, their dreams and aspirations.
“It is not the Rahul factor that will draw the new voters. It is because the Congress offers an alternative to these voters,” a Congress leader said.
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