Pics: Abhijith N Kolpe/Mounesh Vishwakarma
Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (ANK)

Mangaluru, Apr 19: Marriage, childbirth or disability - nothing stopped voters in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts from exercising their franchise in the first phase of the Karnataka leg of Lok Sabha elections on Thursday April 18.

It was an important day in the lives of several bethrothed couples who were to marry on April 18, but that did not stop them from doing their duty as citizens. Several couples, and especially brides decked in shimmering jewellery made heads turn at different polling booths.

Among them was a newly married couple who arrived in their wedding attire to cast their vote at Government Junior Technical School, Kadri.

Bharath, son of Sudhama and Lakshmi hailing from Garodi, and Sanjana, daughter of the late Achalnath and Ashalatha from KPT tied the knot at Kudroli temple on April 18. After concluding the wedding ceremony, the couple headed straight to the polling booth to cast their votes.

Bharath had cast his vote at Capitanio polling station in the morning, while Sanjana arrived with her husband at Government Junior Technical School in the evening to cast her vote. Bharath is working as senior engineer at JBF Petrochemicals, while Sanjana is a chemistry lecturer at Expert College, Valachil.

In Marpalli in Udupi, Shewtha Shettigar came to the polling booth in her wedding attire with her better half. Similarly, Shruthi, who also married on April 18, came with her family to cast her vote at Kudpaltadka in Karopady, Bantwal. She then headed to Buntara Bhavana to her wedding ceremony. Another bride, Soumya Mudoor, a resident of Chandalike, came with her parents and sister to cast vote at Moginapete polling booth. Kavya, who got married the same day at Narayana Guru hall at Mani, came with her relatives to the polling booth at Ukkuda Darbe. Pratijnya of Subhashnagar, Ramya Shetty of Nityanandanagar, Bantwal, and Saritha of Kallige also inked their fingers before entering wedlock.

Newly-weds were not the only ones to steal the limelight. A pregnant woman was so determined to cast her vote that she came to the polling booth despite being in labour. Meenakshi, a resident of Urlandy, experienced labour pain on April 18 morning and was supposed to be admitted to a private hospital in Puttur for delivery. However, she wanted to make sure she cast her vote too, and therefore, with the help of her husband, she came to polling booth 119 and only then headed to the hospital. Within minutes after being admitted, she gave birth to a healthy girl.

A lot of voters with disability also filled the polling booths, helped by their family members. In Beltangady, Sabita Monis, who has set an example with her determination, voted by inking her toe in the absence of both arms. In Mundkur, Karkala, an endosulphan-afflicted voter named Kelvin excercised his franchise with much enthusiasm.

The spirit of democracy was indeed in full flow as thousands made a beeline to the polling booths braving the scorching April heat. One hopes, the members of parliament they elect, and the government that comes to power next, respects their effort and works to fulfill their apsirations.