Over 55,000 first-timers to exercise franchise in Gurdaspur constituency

Ravi Dhaliwal

Gurdaspur, May 28

There are strong indications that first-time voters will turn out in large numbers to exercise their franchise because they want a “revamp of the country’s education, industrial and health systems.”

There are over 55,000 first-timers in Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency. These youngsters understand the value of a vote to a nicety. A girl student of a Gurdaspur-based institution emphasised the value of a single vote by giving a striking example. “Not long ago, my grandfather was in contention for the Chief Minister’s post in Rajasthan. An international funding agency had promised him a big loan for the construction of two dams to be built in flood-prone areas. The catch was that the loan would be given only if he, and nobody else, becomes the CM. He lost by one vote. His wife did not vote because she thought her husband was a sure-shot winner. He never became the CM and consequently the loan was never released by the agency. The area where the dam was to be established is still flood-prone. In the Indian context, that is the power of a single vote,” she said.

Ahead of the 2019 elections, hotelier Romesh Mahajan offered a heavy discount on lunch and dinner for first-time voters. The votes were cast but not a single first-timer landed in his hotel. Likewise, this time too he is putting on a similar offer. Some other hoteliers, too, have set the ball rolling in this direction. However, there are clear signs that these first-timers will not be hankering after the freebies and instead they are ready to vote to “put the country in the driver’s seat as far a development is concerned.”

Ex-Dy Chief Minister and Congress candidate Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa says, “The country’s youth forms a compelling and forceful voting group, fully capable of influencing electoral outcomes and shaping the nation’s political trajectory.”

SAD candidate Daljit Cheema said, “The way they adopt new ideologies positions them as catalysts for progress of the political landscape. No longer are they mere watchers, they are the real agents of change.”

Rohit Kumar, a national-level judo player of the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Judo Centre said, “As a first time voter, I want to select a government that will provide more jobs and better education. I want my vote to be counted.” Gurdaspur-based Manjinder Singh Dala, studying for his law degree in GNDU, says, “I will vote because I want to end reservation in our system. Instead, there should be system of meritocracy that should be put in place.” Clearly, youngsters are symbolic of the new generation that is acting as a catalyst of change.