Students at a Lucknow college will earn extra credit if they can get their mom and dad to vote in the Uttar Pradesh state elections this month.
Getting those 10 extra marks is no easy task. A girl student at Christ Church college said she would have to work hard to push her “lazy” mother to go out on polling day but it would be worth it.
School officials insist this is no bribe, only an incentive to ensure students learn the value of their vote. At a parent-teacher conference immediately after the election, the ink-stained fingers of voting parents will show which students have succeeded in the task.
Elections in India typically see just half of the eligible voters on government lists turn up on polling day. But Uttar Pradesh has sprung a surprise this year, with around 60 percent voter turnout in the initial phases of the election, which is staggered over four weeks.
Analysts are saying young voters in the politically crucial state, which is bigger than Brazil by population, are hankering for change and coming to vote in larger numbers.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seems to have set the ball rolling for granting voting rights to Non Resident Indians.
