The 2024 Lok Sabha election threw a mixed bag with the BJP failing to garner a majority and the opposition-backed INDIA bloc bettering its tally from the last general election.

The NDA, however, succeeded in bypassing the 272-majority mark by getting 292 seats in total.

First-time voters in India beamed with excitement as they cast their votes for the polls this year. Many first-time voters talked to The Statesman about the verdict and what they expect from the new government.

Asked about the expectations from the BJP-NDA government, Aastha Nair, a resident of Indore, expressed her concerns regarding unemployment, education and communal riots.

The 19-year-old said, “I hope the government in this term will allocate more resources and attention to education, recognizing its critical importance. Addressing issues like unemployment should be a priority, with concerted efforts towards its eradication. It is imperative to strengthen the skills and readiness of the workforce to meet the demands of the job market effectively.”

She also wishes that the government bears in mind the importance of safeguarding communal harmony from the influences of politics, post this verdict’s announcement.

Shankar Lalwani (BJP) emerged victorious from Indore with a margin of over 10,00,000 votes. Indore witnessed over 2,00,000 votes for NOTA due to the Congress candidate, Akshay Kanti Bam, defecting to the BJP on April 29.

Yatharth Nigam, a resident of Lucknow shared his perspective on the possible reasons of BJP losing over their seat in the Faizabad constituency. He feels that the party should have had more in their pipeline instead of cashing in the votes on the Ram Mandir.

“After such a huge loss in the Ayodhya-Faizabad constituency, they should realize that working for the locals will be more beneficial than sitting in the national capital and building a temple,” added Nigam.

Awadhesh Prasad (Samajwadi Party) won the Faizabad constituency with more than 54,000 votes against Lallu Singh (BJP).

Asked whether he is content with the verdict, the 23-year-old was rather shocked with the less number of seats that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had received. He added that he expects a lot from the government in this term and wants them “to provide more employment opportunities and work for the welfare of the middle-class people”.

Vaibhav Dutt, who voted from Bengaluru, shared his happiness on the BJP’s win.

“We can surely say that the elections held were free and fair as the INDI Alliance and other parties contesting against NDA have won a lot of seats. I am happy with the result and expect BJP to be in power for the next term as well,” added the 18-year-old voter.

Moving towards the centre of India, Kshitij Kumar, a 19-year-old voter from Thane, Maharashtra expressed his opinions on the failure of the government’s unrealistic expectations and not fulfilling their promises.

He said,”I am happy about the fact that BJP’s unrealistic expectations of ‘400 paar’ were put down in an extremely humiliating manner.”

Now that the BJP-NDA government has won with a majority, Kumar highlighted that he expects the government to “work more for the country and not just try to divert the citizens’ focus towards menial issues”.

Maryam Jaffri, from Delhi, said she was deeply saddened by the state of affairs in engineering colleges regarding unemployment. As an aspiring engineering student, she said, “IITians not receiving decent packages speaks volumes about the way in which the current administration is handling unemployment.”

Furthermore, she also spoke how the government’s disregard towards tension in north-eastern states and the worldwide genocide, led to her choice-making in these elections.

Like the majority of the youth aiming to see improvement in the employment sector, Jaffri too said that she wishes to see the evident issue of unemployment being curbed along with the issues affecting farmers and middle-class people.

“A very modest hope that I have from the new government is to uphold the nation’s religious harmony and peace while remaining faithful to India’s democratic nature,” remarked Jaffri.