New Delhi, November 9: More than one lakh young Indians have taken part in a nationwide electoral-awareness drive run through the government's MY Bharat platform, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya highlighted on Monday, calling their enthusiasm 'extraordinary' in a post on X, Nation Press reported.

Source: Nation Press

The campaign — 'Viksit Bharat Yuva Samvad: Know Your Vote', organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports through Mera Yuva Bharat (MY Bharat) — concluded on Thursday, November 5, with 536 Yuva Samvads conducted across 31 States and Union Territories, reaching 100,493 young people and involving 536 Youth Icons, according to the ministry's Press Information Bureau release of November 6.

Source: PIB / Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports

Ten days of dialogues on campuses

The campaign ran from October 26 to November 5 and aimed to reach 500 universities, colleges and institutions. On the concluding day alone, 123 Yuva Samvads were organised across 28 States and UTs with the participation of 22,588 youth and 123 Youth Icons, the PIB release said.

The dialogues took electoral-awareness discussions to colleges and educational institutions, encouraging young people — particularly first-time voters — to understand their voting rights and electoral procedures and to participate responsibly in democracy. Quizzes, question-and-answer sessions, the Loktantrik Pledge and registration on the MY Bharat portal formed part of the activities.

Governors, Union Ministers, State Ministers, Members of Parliament and other public representatives took part in programmes in different States, alongside sports personalities and Youth Icons, the ministry said.

'An aware youth, an empowered democracy'

In his post on Monday, Mandaviya wrote in Hindi, 'Jagruk yuva, sashakt loktantra' — 'an aware youth, an empowered democracy' — and tied the drive to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Viksit Bharat vision, saying the role of youth is the most critical in realising it, according to Nation Press.

MY Bharat, short for Mera Yuva Bharat, was launched in 2023 under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as a platform connecting young Indians with government schemes, civic activities and nation-building initiatives. The Yuva Samvad series is one of its flagship civic-engagement formats, aimed at voters approaching or just past voting age.