NOTA may find good number of takers

Ajay Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, May 18

Most of the voters in the city have decided to press the ‘None of the Above’ (NOTA) button on the ballot/electronic voting machine. Not able to find a suitable candidate for themselves, most of the residents, including first-time voters and the previous voters, claimed that the NOTA seems to be the only way to show their ‘right to rejection’ of all candidates.

Dilpreet Kaur, who works in in a private company said: “We don’t see any apt candidate for our city, who could resolve the basic issues of the residents.” She alleged that the state government had failed to implement schemes, including “Ghar Ghar Rozgar” and distribution of smart phones to every student.

“Besides, basic development tasks like cleanliness, dilapidated roads and poor drainage in the residential areas remain same”. Hence, the NOTA is the most desirable choice,” she added.

Similarly, a first-tme voter Akash Bakri (21), who is pursuing his graduation, said “Though my family is a traditional Congress voter, I have preferred NOTA over other parties just to make my contribution to the change that young voters are not choosing any candidate, until we find the right one.”

“There are around 30,360 first-time voters in the district this year, including 18,290 men and 12,070 women voters. All parties have set their eyes on these voters. However, after the efforts of the district administration, most of the first-time voters said either they will not vote or opt for NOTA,” he said.

“Better employment opportunities is the top priority for young voters, while they remain dissatisfied with the performance of the state government,” said Karanvir Singh (20), a resident of Bast Bawakhel.

Clearing her stance on the NOTA, Pratishtha Kaura, who works in Delhi and has come here to register her vote said: “It’s a time for dilemma. For me, it is not the right to vote but a duty that we all need to fulfil. I am not sure if our country is headed on the path of progress.”

“A country, with maximum youth population, is struggling to have a leader who can bring in stability, better working opportunities and take our country to the next level of success in the world,” she added.

Meanwhile, a farmer and a dairy owner at Lidhran village said, I would not caste my vote this time as the political parties had always disappointed him.