VIJAYAWADA: Several first-time voters exercised their franchise in the municipal corporation elections held in 64 divisions of the city on Wednesday, pinning their hopes on the redressal of their long-pending demands in their respective divisions including completion of infrastructure projects and control of stray dog and mosquito menace.
Even as the first-time voters were jubilant to cast their vote and the elderly persons too queued up in lines, the polling percentage in Vijayawada Municipal Corporation stood at just 62.88 per cent.
However, another civic body in the district, Machilipatnam Municipal Corporation recorded a decent turnout of 71.14 per cent. The polling began at 7 am and initially, the elderly persons turned up near the polling booths to cast their votes. The youngsters arrived a bit late at the polling stations.
When TNIE interacted with some of the first-time voters, they said it was their responsibility to protect democracy by voting while others cast their votes after assessing the promises made by the contestants.
Harshita (21), a resident of Patamata Lanka said, “I have analysed the contestants of major political parties based on their manifestos. As I reside near the Bandar Canal, indiscriminate dumping of waste by the households and commercial establishments should be prevented to protect the water bodies. Keeping this in view, I voted for the representative whom I felt could solve our problems.”
As a first-time voter, M Narendra Kumar, a first-year BBM student, felt a sense of responsibility to pick the right candidate.
“Our area is located on the banks of River Krishna and we find it difficult to vacate the locality every monsoon following heavy floods to the river. Another major problem haunting the locality is stray dog and mosquito menace. I want the soon-to-be elected body to solve our civic issues.”
“Incomplete UGD works, irregular drinking water supply and bad roads plague our locality,” said Samantha (20), a resident of Patamata. As summer has begun, drinking water supply may get affected in our locality. I cast my vote for the contestant who promised to resolve our long-pending problems.”