Scorching sun fails to dampen first-time voters’ enthusiasm

Amritsar, June 1

A large number of first-time voters exercised their right to franchise during the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections in the city today. The first time voters’ strength in the district is 50,000. All of them seemed excited to be part of the democratic exercise for the first time. Even in the scorching sun, they were seen waiting in queues to cast their votes.

Deepanika Gupta, a student of IIT, Guwahati, who came home, especially to cast her vote at a polling booth in Amritsar Central constituency, said she voted for a candidate, who would resolve issues of unemployment and provide quality higher education. “I am excited to cast my vote today as it felt special to be part of making an important decision regarding forming a government as a citizen of this country. I feel that we need a representative, who would seriously work to resolve issues faced by the youth,” she shared.

Snehdeep Kaur, another first-time voter from Amritsar South segment, said her maiden voting experience was very good. “I voted on the issue of development,” she shared.

Rahul Sharma a voter from Amritsar North constituency, said he was politically aware and voted for whoever he liked, and not on the advice of his parents. “Before voting, I gathered information about candidates and then voted for an aspirant I thought would work best for us,” he said.

Gurleen Kaur Soni, a BBA student, shared that she felt the true responsibility as a citizen of India after casting her vote. “I feel that no one should skip voting as it a responsibility that we all must shoulder,” she said.

Pratima, another voter, said everyone must vote for the holistic development. Stuti Arora, her friend, who is also first-time voter, said every new policy made by political representatives must engage with the youth, who were the future of the country. “One cannot expect to run a government without taking into account the needs of stakeholders, especially youth. One of the reasons for mass migration of youth from Punjab has been the exclusion of issues faced by them from politics,” she said.