JOIN USYoungsters and first-time voters enthusiastically exercised their franchise and shared the experience on social networking websites in Delhi on Saturday.
They came in groups and roamed inside polling stations to make the most of the election day. Of a total 1.3 crore voters in Delhi, around 2.2 lakh are teenagers, and 37 lakh are aged 20-29 years.
Rishab, a first-time voter from south Delhi’s Green Park, was excited as he entered a polling station at a government school in the colony.
“It is the first time I am voting. I hope my candidate wins. I was waiting for this day as all my college friends had decided to vote,” said the English honours undergraduate student.
Accompanied by his father, Rishab took a “selfie” outside the polling station and posted it on Facebook.
Most youngsters told Deccan Herald that the Aam Aadmi Party was a “natural choice”. The candidates do not matter, they added. Twenty-year-old Deepika had little clarity on whom to vote for, she admitted. “So I voted for the AAP. It looks like the only party which will bring change,” said the first-year college student.
Voters in their 20s also linked the AAP with a “corruption-free” Delhi. The influence of peers in this age group also prompted them to vote for the party, they said.
“When I think of a leader who I can look up to, it is Arvind Kejriwal. I am a big fan of Kejriwal, and so are all my friends,” said Navneet Singh. His college-going friend Maninder Singh concurred. “We will benefit in every way once Kejriwal comes to power,” said the 20-year-old.
For Gagandeep Gill, this year’s voting was beyond ordinary due to the presence of the AAP in the political scenario. Gill, in his mid 20s, had come from Canada to cast his vote. “The AAP will win a resounding victory. It will send out the statement of a different belief system. The AAP is the only party in the current system which has the ability to deliver what it promises,” he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had tweeted at 7:30 am asking youngsters to help record a significant rise in the number of votes. “As Delhi votes today, urging voters to go out and vote in large numbers. I particularly call upon my young friends to vote in record numbers,” he had written on the micro-blogging site.
People were seen gathering outside polling booths as early as 7:45 am. “I had been planning for the day for the past two weeks, and wanted to be one of the first to vote,” said Dheera Lallar, at south Delhi’s Sultanpur village at 8 am. Her neighbour, Mohammad Afsal, said the timing suited people who did not have the day off.
“I have to leave for office at 8:30 pm, and don’t want to miss the right to cast my vote,” he said.