‘Country is doing well’: Why jobless young Indians are still backing Modi
Al Jazeera
Polling shows inflation and lack of jobs worry most young Indians. It also shows that support for Modi stays intact.
Patna, Bihar – Sanjeev Kumar is 27 and jobless – a desperate situation compounded by his car salesman father’s imminent retirement in a few years.
The business studies graduate from Patna, the capital of the eastern Indian state of Bihar, voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2019, hoping to land one of the millions of new jobs promised by the country’s governing party and its leader.
Kumar took two exams for jobs in so-called Group D positions in the Indian Railways. This job category is the lowest in the hierarchy of public sector employment in India, yet it comes with benefits and job security, both of which are attractive.
He did not pass either test and complains that far fewer jobs are advertised as up for grabs than the number actually available.
“Things are getting a little difficult now. My father will retire soon and there’s pressure on me to get a job. We are a middle-class family,” Kumar told Al Jazeera.
