BENGALURU: No hurdle could dent their enthusiasm. The aged, the infirm, the specially-abled — they all came out to exercise their franchise on p0lling day. In stark contrast, not many young and educated voters turned up in the Assembly constituencies in Bengaluru where bypolls were held on Thursday.
“We walk for five minutes up to the bus stop and take a bus. After three stops, we get down and head towards the Government School at Kengeri where we have been voting for the last 10 years. We cannot see what route the bus takes, but we are used to it. We never miss voting,’’ said 41-year-old Nethraraju who came to vote along with his sister Gangothri.
Though born with normal vision, the siblings lost their eyesight due to some health issues. On how they managed to vote, Nethraraju said, “On the right-hand side of the EVM, there are numbers in Braille. We touch, feel and cast our vote.”
When asked about youngsters not voting, he said, “We can say many things about a government. Those who do not vote, do not have a moral right to curse or blame the government. Anger is understandable, but that does not mean, do not vote,’’ he added.
There were physically challenged voters who came to the polling booths on their own, some on wheelchairs, and some carried by their family members. Sixty-two-year-old Basavaraj, who was seen at a polling station at Kurubarahalli in Mahalakshmi Layout, was helped into an autorickshaw by a relative to reach the polling booth. A few years ago, he met with an accident which left him paralysed in the legs. But that did not hamper his spirt to vote. “Even before the accident, I used to vote and I do it even today,” he said beaming.
Babeena (90), who made her way to a polling station in Shivajinagar, was accompanied by her family members.
Ramakrishnappa (76) was accompanied by his son Umesh when he came to cast his vote at a polling booth in Yeshwanthpur. “I will cast my vote ... age is no bar. This is the only opportunity I have to voice my opinion and I will not let it go,” he said. Ramakrishnappa added that he also wanted to vote so that he could show the indelible ink mark to his friends, who are also of the same age, as they had a competition among themselves to show who all were able to vote.
His son Umesh was a registered voter in another booth. “My father just does not want to give up. He wants to vote...,” he said. Umesh brought his father till the entrance of the polling booth, after which policemen offered him a wheelchair on seeing that Ramakrishnappa was finding it difficult to walk.
Due to her poor eyesight, polling and police officers at Herohalli allowed 66-year-old Thimmamma’s daughter to accompany her till the EVM. “She is old. We tried to convince her that it was okay if she did not vote. But she just did not listen. So we let her daughter Premamma help her vote. We are also humans... We understand what they feel,” said an election official at polling booth No. 77.
Interestingly, many voters were aged 100 and above. At Gokak, Tippanna Karigar, who is 100 years old, came to the polling station with the help of his grandson.
In Kagwad, specially abled Chethan voted at SHV PUC College at Ugar village. He came with his father and when they learnt that the wheelchair was not in a usable condition, the aged father carried him inside.