KOLLAM: On Thursday, thousands of Kerala’s young voters learnt one of politics’ oldest lessons: that promises are not always meant to be kept. But the one delivering that bitter lesson this time was not a political party or leader. It was the Election Commission.
Many youths had rushed to polling booths, drawn by the poll panel’s offer of ‘halwa’ for first-time voters. What few noticed, however, was the asterisk point — only 200 people per district would receive the sweet, and that too at select booths.
Some waited after casting their votes, hoping for halwa, only to walk away quietly disappointed. Others who questioned the “injustice” were met with polite dismissal by polling officials.
“I went to the booth expecting halwa, but didn’t receive anything,” laughed Anisha Samuel from Idukki.
Jithu Kuriakose Varghese shared a similar experience. “My mother saw it on YouTube and told me. I went expecting halwa, but came back empty-handed,” he said.
Gowri Santhosh, an 18-year-old student at St Teresa’s College in Ernakulam, recounted what her classmate told her: “She rushed to the polling booth to be among the first 200 voters, but there wasn’t even a tiny bit of halwa anywhere.”
Of course, with over 4.6 lakh voters in the 18–19 age group across the state, distributing halwa to all of them was never realistic. On average, each district would have needed more than 33,000 portions.
The ‘misunderstanding’, however, quickly gained traction on social media. “When my friend realised he wouldn’t get halwa, he voted NOTA,” joked one Instagram user. Another quipped: “Today, Kerala will be flooded with the cries of those who didn’t get halwa.”
Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sharmila C Nair said she had received “some complaints”. She explained that the initiative had been misinterpreted, leading many to assume that all first-time voters would receive the sweet.
Well, the halwa may not have reached everyone, but the episode certainly added a quirky flavour to an otherwise sober polling day.
(With inputs from Anu Kuruvilla @Kochi)