Delhi’s first-time voters seek to shoulder responsibility of nation’s future

There were 252,308 first-time voters, of the total 15,201,936 voters, who were excited to exercise their franchise across the seven Lok Sabha constituencies of Delhi, in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections

New Delhi

First-time voter Sanjana receives a certificate upon casting her vote at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi on Saturday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Wriggling through large crowds and carrying a battered umbrella to shield herself from the sun, 20-year-old Akansha Rawat waited patiently to exercise her franchise for the first time. Accompanied by her mother, she stood her ground at the Government Girls Senior Secondary School in Chhattarpur, under the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on Saturday afternoon, waiting for the rush to peter out, with an unparalleled excitement and unwavering will to strengthen democracy.

“We are the generation who will bring change and it is important to not let our votes go to waste,” she said.

“Of course, it is a huge deal to take part in the country’s general elections. You get a say in who comes to power and who might be capable of solving the citizens’ issues,” Rawat added.

Rawat was among the 252,308 first-time voters, of the total 15,201,936 voters, to exercise their franchise across the seven Lok Sabha constituencies of Delhi, in the sixth phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, on Saturday.

Manish Singh, 19, another first-time voter from the same constituency, said, “When you are 18 or 19, a lot of your political views are influenced by the adults around you. This is why I always like having conversations with people from different circles, such as my college seniors and professors, so that I am better informed.”

Singh said that the main issue that guided his vote was the hope of a discrimination-free society.

At neighbouring Mehrauli, 18-year-old Megha Kashyap, was excited to exercise her voting rights, hoping for improvement in the education and employment sectors. “We have some issues here in Mehrauli, the most common of which are exposed sewage pipes and bad condition of roads but the primary reason I stepped out, despite a heatwave warning, at 11am, was because I wanted to make sure that I did my part in securing a better future for myself,” she said.

“The scope of the employment is shrinking in our country. While I might not exactly understand the nuances of it, I see my seniors worried all the time. It makes me feel scared too,” Kashyap, a first-year humanities student at Delhi University, said.

In West Delhi’s Sector 19, Dwarka, first-time voter Hiranya Chiti Bhargavi, 22, said the process of voting went fairly smoothly, but admitted she was extremely nervous the night before. Having cerebral palsy, she decided to go to the polling booth in her electric wheelchair, but was apprehensive there may not be ramps at all points.

“I was determined to cast my vote and make it count. I also wanted to make sure I brought my electric wheelchair, which I could then steer myself. Thankfully, the arrangements were adequate and the staff helped me through the entire process,” she said.

As the day progressed and Delhi continued to sizzle under the sweltering sun, first-time voters were nevertheless unfazed and wanted to fulfil their social responsibility.

Eighteen-year-old Arpit Chowdhury said a lot of his friends were skipping the polling process, but he refused to follow suit. “We are part of the democratic process and the elections are less about which party comes to power and more about what citizens want,” Chowdhury said, on his way to Kendriya Vidyalaya on New Mehrauli Road at 1pm, with three of his older friends, who were all second-time voters.

Khushi Goyal, 21, at the Civil Lines polling booth, was accompanied by her parents to guide her through the first-time voting process. She said she was excited to be a part of the democratic process and that she was further enthused upon learning that Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal would be voting at the same booth.

“It was a weekend and we could have gone out, but every youth cannot start thinking that way. Voting is our right, as well as responsibility, and we need to exercise it,” said Goyal, as she waited to catch a glimpse of Kejriwal, at 11.30am.

Shivani Gupta, 19, a resident of Mustafabad under the North East Delhi constituency, said that she was excited to vote for the first time in her life. “I am excited to cast my first vote. It makes you feel like you are actually a part of the country. It is important not to waste vote; otherwise, we also lose the right to criticise the politicians,” she said.