The problem
Young people in India were consistently underrepresented in political conversations — not because they didn't care, but because the platforms for civic dialogue didn't include them. The space where young people and elected representatives could have honest, issue-based conversations simply didn't exist.
What YKA did
2019 — General Elections
Launched with Twitter India, #DemocracyAdda brought young leaders from diverse parties together for discussions on federalism, the politics of protest, and the role of the three pillars of democracy.
State elections — Rajasthan, MP, Chhattisgarh
Conversations focused on urban youth voter participation, local issues, and how social media was changing electoral dynamics. The campaign travelled to Jaipur, Raipur, and Bhopal.
2020 — Bihar, during COVID
The campaign went fully online — podcasts, Twitter chats, and live discussions in both Hindi and English, educating voters about their rights and how to vote safely during the pandemic.
2021 — #GoVote in 4 languages
Marking elections in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry, YKA launched #GoVote in 4 regional languages — vernacular content on how to vote for the first time, voter rights, and how the EVM works.
What changed
#DemocracyAdda became one of YKA's longest-running series — proof that sustained civic engagement, not one-off campaigns, is what builds genuine dialogue between young people and institutions.
By going bilingual and then multilingual, the campaign reached young people who had been excluded from civic conversations conducted only in English.
The #GoVote sub-campaign demonstrated that young people want to participate — they just need accessible, honest information about how to do it.
