Five years ago, confesses Mihir Ranjan, he was an “uninformed” first-time voter. That has changed. Part of the League of Legends Esports (or electronicthe Asian Games in Hangzhou last year, Ranjan, the son of teachers, now follows the speeches of external affairs minister S. Jaishankar: “Strong, powerful and assertive stances navigating a complex geopolitical scenario.” He seeks an “ambitious vision” from a party/ leader that makes India “primed to be the next superpower” and supports a caste census if it can help reduce inequality. He also finds PM Narendra Modi’s Viksit Bharat a “catchy key word” and supports the idea behind it. Ranjan doesn’t fully agree that there’s no effective Opposition in the country, but he feels that they come across as “disorganised”. “There is no leadership to unite behind and there’s lot of internal fighting,” he says. Rahul Gandhi, he feels, raises important issues, but senses the Congress leader has to contend with the perception that he’s still not fit to be the country’s PM.
