For Sukhwinder Singh Ahluwalia, a 90-year-old ex-serviceman, the enthusiasm to cast vote has not diminished in last six decades. Ahluwalia, with the help of a walking stick reached the Sector 27 polling station to exercise his franchise on Thursday.
The nonagenarian, all by himself came out to the polling booth and cast his vote. “It was my duty to vote. I have been voting in all polls since Independence,” said Ahluwalia.
He said, “In last few decades, nothing has changed in the city. But still, I cast my vote in every election hoping that the country will witness a positive change in next five years. ”
For him, the Congress and BJP were the only options in the elections. “There are only two political parties. I hope the city elects a good representative this time,” said he while commenting on the winning prospects of the 17 candidates in the poll fray from Chandigarh parliamentary seat.
At the same polling booth, siblings Bhanu Arora (22) and Nitika Arora (19), the first time voters, were eagerly waiting in the queue to cast their vote. Excited to cast their vote for the first time, the siblings opted for different candidates. “I am very excited to vote and will vote for the change in Indian politics. I am supporting Aam Aadmi Party’s Gul Panag and hopeful that the AAP delivers and fulfil their promises,” said Bhanu.
Contrary to her brother’s opinion, Nitika was a Congress supporter and said, “The sitting MP Pawan Kumar Bansal has worked a lot for the development of Chandigarh in last 15 years. Bansal is a Chandigarhian and would be easily approachable. So I will be supporting Congress,” added Nitika. “Parking, traffic, employment, women security are the major concerns in the city,” shared the siblings.
Surprisingly, another family member, Seema Arora, was a BJP supporter. I want BJP’s Narendra Modi to become our Prime Minister. Hence, I am voting for the BJP, she said.
Another Modi supporter was Ravi Parkash Gupta, an octogenarian who reached a polling station in Sector 34 to cast his vote. Accompanied by his family, Gupta said, “India needs a strong Prime Minister like Modi. He has a great vision and I am hopeful that the country will witness a huge change under his guidance.”
He added, “The corruption and inflation are the issues which are plaguing the country. Now, it’s time for change.”
A large number of enthusiastic youth, senior citizens and women voters flocked to the polling booths during early morning to cast their vote.
This time, the UT Election Department had made special arrangements for the senior citizens at the polling stations. The physically challenged and senior citizen voters were helped by EC volunteers and police personnel at the polling booths.
A young voter Deepti, who goes by the single name, carrying her six months daughter, exercised her franchise at Sector 21. She said, “Women security remains an important issue for the city residents. I am excited to join the electoral masses. I will vote for development and not for outsiders. ”
At the same polling station, Parul Modi (27) was waiting in the queue for her turn. “She is supporting Modi this time, not because they share the same surname but because Modi would be a good Prime Minister. Modi is a tried and tested alternative against other political parties,” she said.
“The employment opportunities and women security are the main concerns in Chandigarh. Besides, traffic and parking issues need to be addressed here,” said Parul, an engineer working in Gurgaon.
The fate of 17 candidates in the poll from Chandigarh parliamentary constituency was sealed in Electronic voting machines on Thursday. The voting at 519 polling stations in Chandigarh was started at 7 am and ended at 6 pm.
Congress four time MP Pawan Kumar Bansal is pitted against two actors—BJP’s Kirron Kher and AAP’s Gul Panag, both making their electoral debut in lok Sabha polls. While Bansal is counting on his 15 years rule that he claimed to have brought development projects to Chandigarh, the BJP is banking on “Modi wave”. The AAP candidate Panag is hopeful to cash in on “Kejriwal factor” and party’s anti-corruption plank.
85-yr-old dies while waiting to vote
An 85 year-old man died at a polling booth in Sector-41 while he was waiting in a queue to cast his vote for the General lok Sabha elections, on Thursday.
The deceased, identified as Govind Ram, went to the polling booth at Shivalik School in Sector 41, at around 11am. However, while he was waiting in the queue, he fell unconscious on the ground.
Officials on election duty rushed to his rescue and also informed the local police about the incident. The senior citizen, whom eyewitnesses said was not involved in any incident, was transported to a Government hospital Sector 16 by a police team where the doctors on duty declared him brought dead. The dead body has been sent for postmortem.
Meanwhile, the reason of his death has not been confirmed, police can reach at any conclusion only after the postmortem report of the deceased is prepared, said Gurmukh Singh, SHO, PS-39.