New Delhi: Despite the ongoing protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and proposed National Register of Citizenship (NRC), residents of Jamia Nagar came out in huge numbers to exercise their voting right. From senior citizens to women to first time voters, all came out to cast their vote for the Delhi Assembly.
For some, even disability and distance proved no deterrent. Such was the eagerness to vote that many travelled to Delhi from other states to cast their votes.
35-year-old Farhan Sher Khan came all the way from Lucknow to cast his vote along with his wife, Shabana in Zakir Nagar, a locality in Jamia Nagar. According to Farhan, he first booked a ticket in Lucknow Mail, but the waiting list was so long that he could not get a berth. Thereafter, he boarded a bus at 11 pm from Lucknow and reached Delhi at 8 am just to cast his vote.
Speaking to CitySpidey, he said, “Voting is everyone’s right. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity. Everyone should exercise the right democracy has given us.”
Razia, a resident of Zakir Nagar, said, “Vote is the first right of a citizen. No one should sit at home on the day of polling.”
Despite fracturing his leg in a bike accident, Mohd Azeem, another resident of Zakir Nagar, came out to cast his vote. He went to the polling booth with his friend on a scooty. He said, “Since the scooty is not allowed inside the booth, I had to take support of two of my friends enter the booth,” he said.
There was a wheelchair inside the school (polling booth), but it was in use by someone. So, he had to take the support of his friends.
Azeem did not have to wait in the long queue outside the booth as he has one of legs injured. “We get this opportunity once in five years. If not now, then when can we choose our leader,” he said.
Heart ailment, blood pressure, diabetes, pain in legs besides other old-age related problems did not deter 80-year-old Zohra Begum, a resident of Ghaffar Manzil, from casting her vote. She came with her son to Noor Nagar to exercise her franchise.
She said she was not aware of the pick and drop facility introduced by the Election Commission of India (EC). “I came to vote for the development of our nation,” she said.
Mohd Irfan, who had problem in his legs, took the pick and drop facility to reach the polling booth to cast his vote. “Looking at the condition of our country, I felt it is necessary to cast my vote,” he said.
In Ghaffar Manzil, rickshaws were deployed to ferry voters to the booths.
Excitement was visible on the faces of first-time voters. They were quite eager to be part of the election process and know how democracy works. Once out of the polling booth, they indulged in taking selfies of displaying their index finger with ballet mark.
Wasif, a first-time voter, shared his experience saying, “I was very excited to cast my vote. Though I had to stand in the queue for two-and-a-half hours, I felt happy after casting my vote.”
“Every vote counts. We should not sit idle underestimating the power of one vote. I voted for development and gave my vote to the party which I think would deliver,” said Wasif.