“Election ke din aap agar vote nahi kar rahe ho to aap so rahe ho.” These lines from a popular advertisement calling people to vote seemed to have gone home in Nagpur.
With the day of reckoning finally upon us, the mood among the people is far from cynical. In fact, they seem upbeat about voting. TOI spoke to some of the voters who can’t wait for the morrow.
Chairman of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India’s (ICAI) Nagpur branch Milind Patel has been voting since 15 years. He will do so now too. He feels voting is must to bring about change. “Though all candidates are good, me and my family now want a change. Development takes place only through change and this time awareness is more among people due to intense media campaigns,” he says.
Padma Gupta, proprietor of a travel agency, thinks everybody must use the right to vote. “I have been voting since last three years. After marriage, though I have shifted to my hubby’s home which is far from my maternal residence, I will still go to exercise my franchise,” she asserts.
Rahul Shinde, an officer with a private bank, says he has been waiting for the D-Day as he feels it is high time to bring about a change. “Our bank has given us a day’s off for casting our vote. I will be moving not only with my family but also take along my friends in the colony,” he says.
An employee with Public Works Department Milind Khamgaonkar, who is on the election duty, maintains that he is a regular voter at every election. “Though, I will be away on poll duty, I will still vote through a postal ballot. I will also ensure that my parents and my family will go and vote,” he says.