From candidates to seats, teens talk politics with elan

Bhubaneswar: It seems that the simultaneous elections in the state have had an impact surpassing that of the ongoing Indian Premier League on teenagers just below the voting age. These days, they, too, can be seen discussing the fate of the state’s politicians. Experts say social media is helping teenagers wanting to begin political conversations.
Take for instance Nandinii Biswal. The 15-year-old Class X student of SAI International School is keen to know who has got tickets in her constituencies (both assembly and Lok Sabha). She also keeps herself abreast of the latest political developments. “In the school canteen, my friends and I actively discuss the current political scenario,” she says.

Nandinii’s father Nihar Biswal, a senior officer with the National Informatics Centre here, is happy that his daughter is taking an interest in politics. “Nandinii joins me when I watch debates on news channels. At times, she is ahead of me in terms of understanding the finer points of politics,” he says.

Teachers, too, are encouraging more debates these days to make students familiar with the democratic practice of elections. Talking to TOI, Sanjulata Sahoo, a teacher with OSAP 7th Battalion School, explains, “We often hold mock parliaments and encourage students to take part in them. We want to give them a first-hand experience of how a democracy functions.”

In this politically charged scenario, the city’s teenagers have also turned their khattis or informal get-togethers into debates on politics. “Not a single day passes without us talking politics. While the lunchtime is generally spent discussing the pros and cons of the candidates, our khattis are filled with animated discussions about who will win seats like Bhubaneswar and Cuttack and why,” said 17-year-old Anirudh Sahoo, a Plus II second-year student of Biju Patnaik College.

The trend of teenagers closely following elections hasn’t gone unnoticed by experts; they credit the awareness to social media platforms. Rita Ray, a social scientist and professor of sociology at National Law University Odisha in Cuttack, says, “Social media has played a major role in making teenagers curious about politics. With high-pitched political discussions on these platforms, children these days are more aware of the nitty gritty of politics and elections in general.”

Psychiatrist Surjeet Sahoo echoes Ray and adds, “Advanced technology has exposed children to a whole new world of knowledge. Politics is part of that world.”