I visited small towns in UP. Here’s what I found about which leader is winning the hearts of youths

Between villages and towns there are human habitats called qasbas (towns) that have vibrant bazaars.

Qasbas have markets that sell vegetables and clothes catering to everyday needs of its residents. These markets serve as addas for the local population.

In the vicinity of these qasbas are inter colleges and private degree colleges where the youths come to study. These young students also throng the local markets for chai and paan and sometimes also just to kill time.

When I thought of the youths, who gather at these small town markets, I wondered which leaders are popular among them. I took a trip to a few towns near Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh to try and explore the answer to this simple question.

I engaged the youth in informal conversations and asked about which leader, or leaders, they liked.

Methodologically speaking, I was attempting long-form interviews which are used for primary research to understand what people are thinking.

I mostly spoke to youths between 17 years and 21 years and the findings of the chats were rather interesting.

I found out that while they vote only for one party, they like leaders across several parties.

A man named Ram Kishore from Andawa near Prayag told me that while he voted for the BJP and is a great admirer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he also appreciates Congress president Rahul Gandhi for some of his qualities.

Kishore also admires leaders like Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejasvi Yadav and Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.

Similarly, a man named Gaurav, who voted for the Congress in 2014, admires BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj, Prakash Javdekar and Ram Madhav.

Another youth named Shiv Kumar Chaurasia — a great fan of Akhilesh Yadav — who voted for Samajwadi Party, also admires Rahul Gandhi and Modi.

He also likes leaders like Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu. These youths, who include both educated and semi-literate people, know these leaders through TV channels and newspapers.

Leaders like Mayawati, Chandrashekhar and Jignesh Mewani are popular and liked by youths from the Dalit communities, but these youths also admire Rahul Gandhi and Chandrababu Naidu.

However, these people in the small towns of north India do not know too much about regional south Indian leaders. They know a bit about Jayalalithaa, M Karunanidhi and Chandrababu Naidu but lack an in-depth  knowledge of their politics.

Naidu has a larger fan following compared with Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi.

The reason that most youths spelled out for their likings was the oratory skills of the leaders.

Rananjay of Meja near Prayag said, “Ye achha bolate hain (they are good speakers).”

The second quality that made leaders likable was the clarity of thought.

The leaders who were named by the youths are interestingly the ones who appear regularly in news through electronic media.

While leader like Ram Madhav and Prakash Javadekar do not appear in TV news quite frequently, they are liked because they are seen as soft-spoken leaders.

Despite the fuel price hike and growing disenchantment with the BJP government at the Centre, these youths still like Modi because he is seen as a good communicator.

“Unki [Modi] bat samajh mai aati hai (We can understand what he is talks),” they said.

They also believe that Rahul Gandhi raises issues that concern common people. “Wo [Rahul Gandhi] desh ki aur desh ke logon ki baat karate hain (He talks about the country and its people),” is what a 20-year-old man told me.

What I understood after talking to these men is that they are not rigid about their likes and dislikes when it comes to choosing leaders.

They like leaders beyond their political and ideological positions. They are liberal in appreciating the qualities our leaders have.

My interaction with the youths thus brought me to the inference that these voters are sitting on the fence. They can go any side depending on which way the wind blows as elections draw closer.

These voters could well decide who to vote for a day or two before the election and thus actually decide who wins power.