BHUBANESWAR: Even as a few non-resident Odias have enrolled themselves to vote in Odisha, an expat undertook a 20-hour journey from Dubai to Sambalpur, to cast his vote in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections.
Priyadarshee Panigrahi, voted in the third phase polls at Bhutapada in Sambalpur on Saturday. Residing in Dubai since 2008, Panigrahi said it was his duty to vote, like every other citizen of the country. “I firmly believe every vote counts and it is our duty to participate in the electoral process, no matter which part of the world we are in,” he said.
Son of former minister and MP late Sriballav Panigrahi, he is the head of MENA (Middle East & North Africa) business of an Indian MNC. After taking a flight from Dubai to Kolkata, he reached Sambalpur by road on the day to vote. “I have a special connection with Sambalpur, apart from growing up here. My late father had represented Sambalpur in the Odisha Assembly twice. Coming here and voting is my way of paying homage to my motherland and also to my late father,” he said.
This year, 196 Odias residing in other countries have enrolled as overseas/NRI voters for the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the state. However, the data on how many of them have physically voted is not available yet.