Maha polls: Out for 12 hours at age of 88 just so you turn up to vote on Oct 21

Bhiva Waman Kakade, 88, a resident of Shirdi, believes in practising what he preaches. Keen on getting three lakh people in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz to vote, the

Bhiva Waman Kakade, 88, a resident of Shirdi, believes in practising what he preaches. Keen on getting three lakh people in Bandra, Khar and Santacruz to vote, the senior citizen steps out with officials of the State Election Commission (SEC) early in the morning, performing in the bylanes of Carter Road, Bandstand and Pali Hill.

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“I am a professional singer and dancer and have been performing for six decades now. I have performed at many government events held by the Central and state government. But this time, I am doing it for a social cause. I have written three songs to urge citizens to go out and vote. We sing and dance all along the streets, railway stations, bus stops and junctions,” Kakade told Hindustan Times standing outside Bandra station.

Along with Kakade, around seven officials of SEC also roam the streets to urge voters to exercise their franchise. The 12-hour daily campaign begins at 6am and goes on till 2pm. It restarts at 6pm and continues till 10pm. Satyavan Mestry, an official from Bandra West constituency, who is also part of the group, said, “We are targeting all locations, from slums to posh areas, urging them to vote on October 21. The Bandra West constituency has a huge number of young voters. We don’t want them to treat voting day as an extended weekend.”

The Bandra West constituency has 2.98 lakh voters, of which around 1.56 lakh are male and 1.40 lakh female voters while 527 are registered as transgender voters. The sitting MLA is BJP’s Ashish Shelar, who will contest from the constituency. The Congress is yet to announce the name of its candidate.