The first-time voters appearing for their Higher Secondary exams this year, or those on the verge of graduation, have grown up seeing only the Modi and Mamata governments. They have come of age amidst corruption, the reign of miscreants, Hindu-Muslim hatred, communal violence, rape, unemployment, crumbling state schools and hospitals, despair, precarious low-income jobs, and a widening chasm between the rich and the poor. This generation has never had the opportunity to witness a Left-wing government. Instead, they find deprivation, poverty, and frustration to be their constant companions.
