On Location Video: India’s youngest voters helped sway the election, but they’re not all happy with the result

HYDERABAD, India — India is one of the youngest countries on Earth — half of its 1.2 billion citizens are under the age of 30. Over six weeks of polling, India’s youth voted in record numbers and helped put the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and its candidate Narendra Modi into power. To reach them, the BJP expertly used social media, part of a sophisticated communications strategy designed by a team of young Indian businessmen. 

“The people who came in to volunteer were mainly the youth,” said Divya Dholay, a BJP secretary in Mumbai in charge of social media. “That’s when we took the pulse that it’s the youth that are more keen.”

The strategy helped bring about a landslide victory, but not all India’s youngest voters are convinced the BJP will do what's best for them.