A wedding that would remind you of your voting duty

A family takes a lot of care while selecting a match for their daughter. The parents ensure that the character of the bridegroom is good, he is honest and loyal. One should do the same while electing a candidate, who would represent you in either assembly or parliament.

A brother in Hubballi has hit two birds with one stone: of spreading a message on the importance of voting and second informing his relatives and friends about his sister’s wedding by printing her wedding card as a replica of the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC).

Manjunath Hugar, a Bescom employee and the brother, has printed the wedding card of his sister Annapuran, a teacher in a private school, who will be entering the wed-lock with Sunil, an engineer in Hubballi. The couple’s wedding is on April 26, three days after the third phase of elections, in which Dharwad would go to polls.

“We the people of India, always crib over the pathetic condition of our country and at the same time remain absent from performing our duty of casting vote and selecting the right candidate. I wanted to send out a message and also make my sister’s marriage a memorable one,” said Majunath.

The wedding card, which also has the national emblem and details of the Hugar family, date of the wedding, venue and other details has become an instant hit with the family members and friends. Initially they had decided to print 800 copies, however, now they have given an additional 200 copies order, as the family started getting calls requesting for wedding cards!

The card also has a message: Donate blood to save a life, cast a vote to build the nation. Attend the wedding without fail and ensure you cast your vote on polling day.

The wedding card received appreciation from election commission officials in Bengaluru and thanked him for spreading the message of the importance of voting.

He said, by April 20 they will distribute all the cards and hope that their efforts bare the fruits. He just smiled when asked if showing blue ink of finger is compulsory to enter the wedding hall. “Unfortunately, voting is not compulsory in India, then how can I ask my relatives to do so,” he said.

Return gift

The family has also planned to distribute saplings to all the guests who attend the wedding. By this, we also wish to ensure that the house our sister goes has good shade and prosper. The guests will be also be asked to plant them near their houses, he said.