THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At 22, first-time voter Niranjan H casts his ballot more out of a sense of routine than belief in its impact. A voter in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency, he remains unconvinced that a single vote can bring about real change.
The postgraduate student said he had merely accompanied his parents to the polling booth and decided to vote along with them.
Niranjan had been eligible to enroll as a voter during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections but admits that apathy kept him from registering then.
“It was only after the SIR that I decided to enroll,” he said. He briefly referred to concerns such as unemployment and student migration.
In contrast, 20-year-old Uthara R Pillai approaches voting with conviction, firmly believing, every vote counts and making her choice based on priorities. “In my case, development and welfare measures are the key factors,” she said after casting her first vote.
The engineering student said her vote should go to a party that prioritises people’s welfare.