A red-carpet welcome to voters
A red-carpet welcome, spruced-up infrastructure and e-rickshaws on Wednesday greeted voters at the nine ‘model polling stations' here — an initiative of the Delhi Election office to make voting a pleasant experience. The unique arrangement drew large appreciation from the voters at these polling stations across nine districts. The facility of battery-powered rickshaws or e-rickshaws to ferry voters from the entrance gate to the polling booth was a spectacle at Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya polling station in laxmi Nagar constituency. A group of senior citizens that reached the venue gate were excited to board the e-rickshaws which had poster on them reading "May I help you" to reach the polling booths.
Visually-impaired, limping brother steal show
Among the voters who turned up at a polling station in Ballimaran constituency on Wednesday to cast their votes, two siblings stood out in their determination to be a part “in fulfilling a citizen's duty”. Visually impaired Priyanka Singh (33) was accompanied by her brother Goldie Singh (30), who was using crutches to support his fractured leg, as the siblings made their way to cast vote in Delhi's electoral battle. Accompanied by their mother, the siblings braved two flights of stairs and a rickshaw ride through the congested Delhi-6 lanes to exercise their franchise. Priyanka displayed ample excitement as she flaunted her ink-marked finger after casting her ballot. “This is a citizen's duty. I too want to serve my country by casting my vote,” she beamed.
Fb, Twitter buzzes with Inked finger selfies
Various social networking sites on Wednesday buzzed with ‘selfies' of inked fingers and comments of voters ranging from seasoned politicians to those who cast their votes for the first time at the Delhi Assembly polls. Young voters, mostly first timers, said it was "cool" to upload pictures of their left index fingers marked in bright purple, proof that they cast their votes. "I uploaded it because it shows that I have practised my right and have contributed something to the nation," said Manisha Garg, an engineer, who voted for the first time. Others too said they wanted to "show-off" on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social networking sites about their presence in polling booths, notching up comments and likes on their statuses.
Aged, differently-abled exercise franchise
Voting spirit was at its peak on the polling day for the most speculated electoral battle in Delhi. It was not just the youth or the adults who came out to exercise their vote, but also senior citizens as old as 103 years old and differently-abled voters. Jamna Devi, 103, has been casting her vote for nearly half a decade now, and didn't miss this one too. "It is my right to vote. I get a strong sense of belongingness to my city while voting," she said in a frail voice while coming out of a polling booth at Gandhi Nagar. Navneet, a blind first-time voter was accompanied by his sister Shalini to the polling booth in laxmi Nagar. "I am very excited. It was a wonderful experience. They have the names of the candidates in brail as well," he said.