Fervour marks voting day in Mandi
Dipender Manta
Mandi, June 1
Senior citizens, women and youngsters displayed great enthusiasm and fervour as they cast their ballots today in the Mandi parliamentary constituency, marking an active participation in the festival of democracy. Raj Mal (89) and Manchali Devi (80) were among the senior citizens who made their way to the booths, exemplifying the spirit of democratic engagement.
First-time voters Kashish, Angel and Priyanka Bagga expressed their excitement after casting their vote, talking about the significance of youngsters’ participation in shaping the country’s future governance.
They emphasised the importance of addressing youth unemployment as a critical issue in the Lok Sabha elections. Women, too, demonstrated great enthusiasm, patiently waiting in long queues outside polling booths, many with their children, despite the sweltering heat.
Uma Bharti, a native of Ramnagar in Mandi city who currently resides in Belgium, made a special trip back to her hometown with her family to exercise her franchise. Along with her husband, Naresh Sharma, and their two children, Bharti returned to Mandi, bringing along her four-month-old daughter, Aranya Sharma. The fervour displayed by citizens across age groups and gender reflects a deep-rooted commitment to the democratic process and the belief in the power of collective action to shape the nation’s future. As the polling day in Mandi came to an end, the turnout underscored the importance of civic engagement and the responsibility each citizen held in shaping the course of the country’s governance for the next five years. Enthusiasm was on an all-time high among the voters in Spiti Valley, where locals arrived in traditional attire to cast their ballots at Tashigang, the world’s highest polling station, situated at a height of 15,256 feet in the tribal district of Lahaul and Spiti.
Residents of the remote Malana village nestled in lap of the Himalayas in Kullu district also actively participated in the voting process.
