As polling started at 8 am on Wednesday the people started thronging the booths of 10 constituencies spread across Dehradun district. Over 52 percent of the electorate reportedly cast their votes by 3 pm. Election officials said that the turnout figure would go up much further after the poling ended.
The large presence of the first- time voters, mostly college going youths, was a remarkable feature of the election in the district. They were found excited while lining up in the queues to exercise their franchise for the first time. The elderly did not lag behind in their enthusiasm to cast votes to elect a Government of their own.
Even at 8 am when the poling started people across the age groups were found lining up in queues in booths under Rajpur Road and Raipur constituencies where political heavyweights are locked in a fierce electoral tussle.
KN Bhatt (65), found standing in a queue at a booth at near Vikaslok, near Sahastradhara Crossing, said he had come to cast vote despite the fact that the candidates on being elected were used to turning their backs on the electors once the election was over. “This is unfortunate for a participatory democracy. But I make it a point to cast vote in every election. I also persuade my family members to do the same. Thanks to the compulsion of the candidates to seek votes every five years, we are having a modicum of development in our areas,” he said.
Neha Bisht (20), a first time voter from Adarsh Vihar, said that it being her maiden experience to participate in the democratic engagement, she was feeling thrilled. “I have earlier voted in the student union election in my college. Development is what counts with me while voting. Both national and state issues are important while we decide who to vote. Uttarakhand being a part of India, we can hardly ignore the national issues while voting to elect a State Assembly,” she said.
Sameer Semwal (22), another first time voter, found standing in a line at a booth set up in DBS College campus, said that he was happy to take part in the democratic exercise. “I am not much bothered about the national and state issues. Being a student, I want the candidate I would vote for would do his bit to pressure the next government to improve the academic atmosphere and to impart quality education in the government colleges.”Raipur resident Nidhi Sachdeva (24) who had voted for the second time, said after she cast her vote that she had voted for development of the area she was residing in.
“I do not expect much. But I am sure that those to be elected would have to rise up to our expectations because of the compulsion of re-seeking votes after five years. This is the beauty of democracy,” she said.