Sonia woos youth in Nehru-Gandhi heartland

ALLAHABAD: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday reminded "Young India" that it was her husband Rajiv Gandhi who had reduced the minimum voting age to 18 during his tenure as Prime Minister and given them the right to choose their leader.

"We are a nation where more than 70 per cent of the population is aged under 35. For many of our young voters it will be their first opportunity to exercise their franchise. I ask them to remember that it was Rajiv Gandhi, who because of his immense faith in the country's youth, had got the minimum voting age reduced to 18," Gandhi said at an election rally here.

Striking an emotional chord with the youth, she said the on-going "elections are an opportunity to help fulfil the dream of Rajiv, who had left behind a vision for a new India in the 21st century".

"In this regard, the people of Allahabad, which has been home to many freedom fighters and leaders, including Rajiv's grandfather and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, have a special duty to fulfil," the Congress president said, evoking cheers from the crowd.