JOIN US If you are a first-time voter, feel special and get ready to pamper yourself once you have exercised your franchise. Your inked finger that day is all that you would need to redeem a bounty of offers and discounts up for grabs—from free popcorns and soft drinks in multiplexes to a whole range of spa therapies and beauty treatments in parlours in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana.
First-time voters will also get a chance to have their photographs taken with a letter of appreciation that lauds their zeal to participate in world's largest democratic exercise, beginning April 10.
To woo first-time voters, Chandigarh election authorities have promised discounts of up to 40 per cent on several restaurants, eateries and hotels, including 5-star establishments, in the city, Deputy Commissioner Mohd Shayin told Deccan Herald.
Voters in the age group of 18-19 will also get free soft drinks and popcorn while watching their favourite films in a multiplex in Chandigarh, said Shayin, adding that the UT authorities have tied up with all prominent retail stores in markets and shopping malls to offer discounts on the display of inked fingers and electoral identity cards.
Authorities say they have tied up with beauty salons that will give first-time voters heavy discounts on a range of beauty and spa treatments.
There are nearly 40,000 new voters in Chandigarh. The discounts will continue for two days after voting, said the DC. Chandigarh, he said, is the only place in the country where text messages will help voters time their arrival at the polling booth to avoid rush.
It’s also the only city where a voter will be updated electronically instantly after he or she casts his or her vote.
In Punjab, lakhs of letters urging youths to vote on April 30 will be dropped on Amritsar from an aircraft on Thursday to woo voters, said Amritsar DC Ravi Bhagat.
(With Smriti Sharma Vasudeva in Bangalore)